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THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE 
AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


THE  EARL  OF  BUTE 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 


BASED  ON  CONTEMPORARY   LETTERS 

DIARIES    AND    OTHER 

DOCUMENTS 


BY 
ELLEN   CHASE 


VOLUME  I 


THE   BAKER   AND   TAYLOR  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK 


"5fl«0 


Copyright,  1910,  by 
THE  BAKER  AND  TAYLOR  COMPANY 


THE  PLIMPTON  PRESS,  NORWOOD,  MASS.  U.S.A. 


"  The  story  of  the  18th  and  19th  of  April  (1775)  may  be 
made  as  inspiring  as  Thermopylae,  and  as  romantic  as 
Bannockburn.  Concord  has  her  Barretts  and  Buttrick, 
Lexington  her  Parker,  Acton  her  Davis,  Brookline  a  Gardner.'9 

S.  ARTHUR  BENT. 

"Such  men  and  their  deeds  are  the  precious  treasures  of 
every  community.  Their  commemoration  stimulates  public 
spirit,  and  public  spirit,  not  private  wealth,  is  the  main-spring 

of  the  American  Republic.'9         „  ^  ^ 

*  GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 


PREFACE 

IN  studying  the  beginnings  of  the  American  Revolu 
tion,  the  remark  made  by  John  Adams  that  there  was 
a  revolution  in  men's  minds  that  preceded  the  years  of 
battle,  and  that  the  result  of  the  war  but  set  its  seal  on 
a  severance  of  interests  already  accomplished  is  more  and 
more  clearly  pressed  home.  The  successive  incidents 
that  bred  discord  between  the  mother  country  and  the 
Colonies  are  singularly  rich  in  detail  and  color.  Time 
would  fail  to  tell  the  story  of  the  period  between  the  Peace 
of  Paris  and  April  19th  in  full.  There  were  clashings  with 
stamp  masters,  bickerings  along  the  water  front,  tumults, 
and  tea  parties  up  and  down  the  land.  The  priceless 
manuscript  volumes  in  the  State  Archives  and  the  zeal 
of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  in  bringing  to  light 
numerous  journals  and  letters  of  the  day  have  given  unusual 
facilities  for  following  these  years  in  their  relationship  to 
Boston.  If  the  happenings  elsewhere  are  passed  by  briefly 
here,  they  are  none  the  less  memorable. 

The  main  purpose  of  the  narrative  has  been  to  make  the 
outline  of  events  in  this  neighborhood  live  once  more  in 
all  their  wealth  of  humor  and  picturesqueness  as  they  were 
known  by  the  actors. 

The  interest,  however,  is  more  than  local,  more  than 
contemporary,  for  the  elements  here  shown  at  odds  are 
capable  of  cropping  out  again.  Taken  seriously,  the  story 
of  this  book  may  well  have  a  practical  side,  considered  in 
relation  to  our  newly-acquired  Colonial  possessions.  We 
at  home  hear  vaguely  of  these  outlying  parts  being  settled 
by  some  of  ourselves;  but  the  conditions  into  which  the 
Colonists  go  are  but  little  understood  and  less  noted. 
Yet,  carrying  our  name  and  traditions  and  pluck,  we  must 
believe  that  their  day's  work  will  tell  as  the  years  go  by. 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

It  is  surely  important  that  we  learn  from  our  past  and 
become,  both  leaders  and  people,  familiar  with  the  spirit 
of  the  wise  guidance  offered  to  England  by  Pitt  and  Burke 
and  St.  Asaph.  So  enlightened,  we  may  feel  confident  that 
any  complications  the  future  may  have  in  store  for  us  as 
a  motherland  will  be  readily  set  right. 

I  desire  to  thank  the  New  England  Magazine  for  the 
pictures  of  George  the  Third,  Governor  Hutchinson,  and 
James  Warren;  the  publishers  of  "The  History  and  Tradi 
tions  of  Marblehead,"  by  Samuel  Roads,  Jr.,  for  that  of 
Colonel  Jeremiah  Lee;  and  Messrs.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 
publishers  of  Bryant  and  Gay's  "Popular  History  of  the 
United  States,"  for  that  of  the  Liberty-Pole  Festival. 

Permission  has  also  been  courteously  granted  by  the 
Lord  Chamberlain  of  England  and  Viscount  Dillon  for  the 
reproduction  of  the  portraits  of  the  Marquis  of  Rocking- 
ham  and  Sir  Francis  Dash  wood.  For  those  of  Dr. 
William  Aspinwall,  by  Stuart;  Henry  Barnes,  Esq.,  and  his 
wife;  the  Copley  Family  group;  William  Dawes;  and 
Charles  Paxton,  I  am  indebted  to  Mrs.  Richard  C.  Dixey, 
Miss  Susan  B.  Willard,  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Miss 
Julia  Goddard,  and  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
to  all  of  whom  appreciative  thanks  are  returned. 

For  the  courtesies  shown  by  Mr.  Tracy  of  the  State 
Archives,  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Green  of  the  Massachusetts  His 
torical  Society,  Mr.  Greenlaw  of  the  Historical  and  Gene 
alogical  Society,  and  Mr.  Charles  K.  Bolton  of  the  Boston 
Athenaeum,  grateful  acknowledgment  is  made.  In  especial, 
warm  thanks  are  returned  for  the  constant  encouragement 
offered  by  the  Hon.  George  Sheldon  of  Deerfield. 

E.  C. 

HUNDRIDGE,  BROOKLINE,  April,  1910. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     WAR  DEBT  MAKES  ENGLAND  SEEK  A  COLONIAL  REVENUE.    STAMP 

ACT  CAUSES  RIOT 1 

II.     THE  COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY  FOR  REPEAL 40 

III.  RESISTANCE  TO   CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS.     TROOPS  QUARTERED  ON 

BOSTON 77 

IV.  CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD 113 

V.     STAND  MADE  BY  THE  CITY  OF  LONDON  AGAINST  THE  KING.     TEA 

TAX  DEBATES.      SNIDER  INCIDENT 143 

VI.     SOLDIERY  PROVOKED 171 

VII.     BOSTON  MASSACRE         212 

VIII.     PRESTON'S    TRIAL.      THE     GASPEE     INCIDENT.      COMMITTEES    OF 

SAFETY  FORMED 247 

IX.     DEADLOCK  OVER  THE  TEA  SHIPS.      BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  ....  287 

X.     THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED 341 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

THE  EARL  OF  BUTE Frontispiece 

KING  GEORGE  THE  THIRD 10 

SIR  FRANCIS  DASIIWOOD 16 

FIELD  MARSHAL  HENRY  SEYMOUR  CONWAY 20 

COLONEL  BARRE 26 

GEN.  JAMES  WARREN 30 

THE  HUTCHINSON  HOUSE 34 

ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON 44 

DUKE  OF  BEDFORD 54 

RT.  HON.  GEORGE  GRENVILLE 58 

AN  ELECTION  ENTERTAINMENT  AT  BRENTFORD 62 

THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  STAMP  ACT 70 

RT.  HON.  CHARLES  TOWNSHEND 78 

CHARLES  PAXTON 86 

LIBERTY  POLE  FESTIVAL         100 

BRITISH  TROOPS  LANDED 108 

GOVERNOR  FRANCIS  BERNARD 130 

JAMES  OTIS 136 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN         140 

JOHN  HAMPDEN 148 

WILLIAM  BECKFORD 152 

THE  RT.  HON.  THE  EARL  OF  HILLSBOROUGH 160 

OLD  STATE  HOUSE 214 

BOSTON  MASSACRE 218 

SAMUEL  ADAMS 236 

JOSIAH  QUINCY,  JR 244 

ALGERNON  SIDNEY 260 

CHARLES  JAMES  Fox 264 

JOHN,  EARL  OF  SANDWICH 268 

J.  S.  COPLEY,  His  WIFE,  CHILDREN,  AND  FATHER-IN-LAW,  RICHARD  CLARKE, 

ESQ 304 

BOSTON  TEA  PARTY 328 

THE  STATE  COTILLON,  1773 350 


THE   BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION 

CHAPTER  I 

WAR    DEBT    MAKES    ENGLAND    SEEK    A    COLONIAL    REVENUE 
STAMP   ACT   CAUSES   RIOT 

F  I^VHE  self-reliant  spirit  with  which  the  settlement  of 
A  Boston  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  was  begun  cannot 
be  better  expressed  than  in  the  words  of  George  E.  Ellis:1 
"For  more  than  a  half  of  its  first  hundred  years  the  Town 
and  the  Colony  had  been  substantially  independent  of  all 
foreign  control;  pursuing  industry  and  trade  on  its  own 
resources;  choosing  its  own  magistrates  and  holding  them 
to  account;  making  and  administering  its  own  laws;  fight 
ing  its  own  battles  with  Indians,  Dutch,  and  Frenchmen; 
never,  even  in  poverty  or  distress  or  peril,  asking,  but  rather 
repudiating,  public  aid  from  abroad."  In  short,  unlike  some 
of  the  later  settlements,  the  Colonists  were  here,  by  the 
terms  of  the  Charter  of  King  Charles  I.,  allowed  full  powers 
so  long  as  they  submitted  to  no  foreign  prince  and  made  no 
laws  running  counter  to  the  laws  of  the  mother  country. 
These  rights,  held  as  sacred  and  irrevocable  by  the  Colo 
nists,  were  at  first  unquestioned.  After  the  Restoration, 
however,  the  affairs  of  the  Province  were  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  standing  committee  of  the  Privy  Council2  who  viewed 
the  Colony  as  a  mere  corporation  whose  privileges  could 
be  revoked  at  the  royal  pleasure.  Sundry  attempts  to 

1  Siege  and  Evacuation  Memorial,  Oration  and  a  Chronicle  of  the  Siege,     George 
E.  Ellis.     Boston,  1876,  printed  by  order  of  the  Council. 

2  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  I.     Justin  Winsor.      "  The   Charter  of  King 
Charles  I.,"  by  Charles  Deane.     Boston,  1880:  James  R.  Osgood  and  Company. 

1 


2     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

control  the  independence  of  the  Legislature  having  failed, 
the  Court  of  Chancery,  with  scant  intimation  of  its  pur 
pose,  passed  judgment  against  the  Colony  and  declared 
(1684)  the  letters-patent  "vacated,"  intimation  to  this 
effect  being  forwarded  to  the  Colony's  secretary,  Edward 
Rawson.  Before  it  came  to  hand,  Charles  II.  had  died  (Feb 
ruary,  1685)  and  James  II.  was  proclaimed  as  his  successor. 
"'  The  following  year  Sir  Edmund  Andros  arrived  as  Royal 
Governor.  Zealous  in  the  interest  of  the  Crown,  he  was 
bound  to  give  offence.  All  land  deeds  he  reckoned  as 
rendered  void  by  the  loss  of  the  Charter,  and  fresh  ones 
were  granted  only  upon  payment  of  large  fees.  As  for  the 
Indian  deeds,  he  deemed  them  of  as  little  account  as  "the 
scratches  of  a  bear's  paw." 

When  murmurs  arose,  the  freedom  of  the  press  was 
tampered  with.  At  length  the  Governor,  supported  by  a 
few  of  his  Council,  went  so  far  as  to  lay  an  assessment  on 
the  whole  body  of  the  people. 

The  little  village  of  Ipswich  in  Essex  County  made  a 
notable  resistance  at  this  time,  under  the  leadership  of 
Parson  John  Wise1  and  five  more,  John  Appleton,  John 
Andrews,  Robert  Kinsman,  William  Goodhue,  and  Thomas 
French.  When  they  were  brought  before  the  Star  Chamber 
judges,  Dudley,  Stoughton,  Usher,  and  Randolph,  the 
privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  denied  Wise; 
Dudley  saying,  roughly,  "they  must  not  think  the  laws  of 
England  followed  them  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  and,  as 
for  Wise,  he  had  "no  more  privileges  than  not  to  be  sold 
as  a  slave."  With  their  condemnation,  all  opposition  ceased. 
Recognizing  the  influence  of  the  free  discussion  of  affairs 
in  the  Town  meetings,  the  following  March  (1688)  an  act 
was  passed  by  the  Council  limiting  the  Towns  to  one 
yearly  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  election.2 

1  American  Biographies,  Lives  of  the  Signers  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
Introduction:  Rev.  Charles  A.  Goodrich.     First  edition,  1829.     See  Sabin's  Dic 
tionary  for  various  editions. 

2  Memorial   History   of   Boston,   II.      Justin  Winsor.      "The    Inter-Charter 


STAMP    ACT    CAUSES    RIOT  3 

At  this  juncture  (December),  happily  for  the  Colony, 
Andros  was  involved  in  the  downfall  of  the  Stuarts,  and 
recalled.  Through  the  mediation  of  the  Rev.  Increase 
Mather,  already  in  England  as  the  Colony's  agent,  steps 
were  taken  to  secure  from  King  William  and  Queen  Mary, 
upon  their  accession,  a  confirmation  of  the  old  charter. 
The  Council,  however,  was  of  a  different  mind,  and  in 
sisted  upon  drawing  up  a  new  charter,  which  hampered 
the  Legislature  by  making  it  subject  to  the  veto  of  a 
Governor  appointed  by  the  Crown.  Mather,  ill  pleased, 
said  he  "could  never  think  of  agreeing  to  such  an  in 
fringement  of  his  country's  liberties."  Observing  dryly, 
that  "nobody  expected  or  desired  his  consent,  that 
they  did  not  look  on  the  agents  from  New  England  as 
plenipotentiaries  from  another  sovereign  State," l  the 
Lords  of  the  Council  submitted  the  charter,  but  little 
modified,  to  the  King  for  his  approval.  This  being 
granted,  it  went  into  effect  1691,  and,  to  quote  Ellis 2  once 
more,  "Boston  became  in  miniature  a  vice-royalty,  with 
Court  and  Church." 

"  There  had  long  been  restrictions  on  the  Colonists'  trade, 
but  at  first  this  pressed  but  slightly.  In  the  early  days  they 
had  no  wish  or  skill  to  enter  into  forbidden  competition  with 
British  manufactures.  Neither  did  they  count  it  a  hard 
ship  that  the  carrying  must  be  done  in  English  bottoms. 
If  they  stopped  to  think,  they  would  recall  that  these  Navi 
gation  laws,  passed  under  the  leadership  of  Sir  Harry  Vane 
in  the  Commonwealth  days,  were  aimed  at  the  Dutch  who 
were  friendly  to  the  Stuart  interest,3  but  it  is  more  than 
likely  they  thought  little  about  it,  the  ties  between  the  two 
countries  still  being  of  the  closest. 

For  the  rest,  they  had  a  sure  market  for  all  the  furs, 

Period,"  by  William  H.  Whitmore.  Boston,  1881 :  James  R.  Osgood  and 
Company. 

1  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  II.    "The  Inter-Charter  Period." 

2  Evacuation  Memorial  Oration. 

3  The  Life  of  Thomas  Hutchinson,  Royal  Governor  of  the  Province  of  Massachu 
setts  Bay.     James  K.  Hosmer.     Boston,  189G:  Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Company. 


4    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

lumber,  iron,  sugar,  and  tobacco  they  could  send  "home," 
and  when,  by  exchange,  their  own  needs  in  the  way  of 
English  wares  had  been  met,  the  countries  south  of  Cape 
Finisterre  were  assigned  to  them  for  the  disposal  of  the 
surplus.1  Since  the  French  in  the  West  Indies  were  great 
consumers  of  fish  and  afforded  a  nearby  market,  much 
trading  turned  their  way.  Unhappily  this  roused  the  jeal 
ousy  of  the  English  planters  in  that  region,  and  occasioned 
the  Importation  Act  of  1733  with  an  almost  prohibitive 
tariff  on  foreign  molasses. 

'  It  was  peculiarly  unfortunate  that  this  curbing  of  a 
practically  free  commerce  should  coincide  with  a  growing 
consciousness  of  power  and  consequence  on  the  part  of  the 
Colonies  .* 

The  life  of  the  frontier  and  the  resources  of  a  virgin  soil 
had  bred  a  buoyant,  vigorous  people  to  a  degree  little 
realized  abroad.  When,  however,  the  Peace  of  Utrecht 
was  broken  in  1744  and  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession 
broke  out  in  Europe,  New  England  had  a  chance  to  show  her 
mettle.  Governor  Shirley  had  conceived  the  bold  project 
of  capturing  Louisburg,  the  Gibraltar  of  America,  and 
brought  the  matter  privately  before  the  Legislature  at 
Boston.  While  the  chances  of  success  were  yet  being 
weighed,  it  happened  that  one  of  the  country  members,  a 
zealous  deacon,  referred  to  the  subject  during  family  prayer. 
His  household  gave  him  no  peace  until  the  allusion  was 
explained,2  and  so  the  proposition  came  to  the  ears  of  the 
public  and  met  with  enthusiastic  support.  On  the  follow 
ing  seventeenth  of  June  the  Provincial  troops  entered  the 
fortress,  their  commander,  William  Pepperell  of  Kittery, 
New  Hampshire,  hitherto  known  only  as  a  merchant, 
receiving  in  acknowledgment  knighthood  from  King 
George  II.,  while  the  English  naval  commander,  Sir  Peter 

1  Memorial     History    of    Boston,     I,     306.     Colonel     Thomas    Wentworth 
Higginson. 

2  Ibid.,  II,  115.     Colonel  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson  gives  Hawthorne  as 
source. 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  5 

Warren,  was  promoted  to  be  an  Admiral.  England  was 
busy  at  this  time  defending  herself  from  the  forces  of  the 
Young  Pretender,  and  no  other  event  marked  the  war  on 
this  side.  This  drew  attention  all  the  more  keenly  to  the 
exploit  of  the  New  Englanders,  whose  temper  and  self-con 
fidence,  it  must  be  owned,  waxed  higher  than  ever.  It  ~* 
was  a  matter  of  chagrin  when,  in  1748,  by  the  terms  of  the 
Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  they  saw  their  conquest  returned 
to  France;  still,  there  had  been  one  permanent  benefit  - 
Parliament  had  somewhat  tardily  granted  Massachusetts 
£183,649  2,9.  l\d.  in  compensation  for  her  outlay;  and  this 
sum,  under  the  wise  advice  of  Thomas  Hutchinson,  the 
Speaker  of  the  House,  had  been  used  to  place  the  Province 
on  a  sound  financial  footing.1  Since  1690,  when  paper 
money  had  been  issued  to  meet  the  expenses  of  an  unsuc 
cessful  expedition  against  Canada,  the  Colony  had  been 
handicapped  by  a  load  of  irredeemable  currency.  With 
the  extinction  of  these  worthless  bills  a  tide  of  prosperity 
set  in.  Hosmer  1  says:  "The  shipyards  teemed  with  fleets, 
each  nook  of  the  coast  was  the  seat  of  mercantile  ventures; 
in  all  the  shore  towns  the  fine  mansions  of  the  traders  in 
buff  and  square  comeliness  rose  along  the  main  streets. 
Within  the  houses,  bric-a-brac  from  every  clime  came  to 
abound  .  .  .  glowing  reports  of  the  gayety  and  luxury  of 
the  Colonies  reached  the  Mother  Country."  Without  con 
sidering  that  wealth  in  the  Colonies  must  eventually  react 
to  the  advantage  of  the  home  markets,  the  English  traders  ', 
pressed  upon  Parliament  the  need  of  a  strict  enforcement 
of  the  old  and  well-nigh  forgotten  law  against  manufacturing 
in  the  Colonies  anything  that  could  be  made  in  Great 
Britain.  Twenty-nine  Restraining  Acts  were  accordingly 
passed  denouncing  all  existing  iron  works  as  nuisances2  to 
be  levelled,  and  insisting  upon  raw  material,  such  as  lumber, 

1  Life  of  Thomas  Ilutchinson,  2G-8,  51.     Hosmer. 

-  Our  Country,  I,  500.   Benson  J.  Lossing.  New  York,  189o:  Johnson  &  Bailey. 


6    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

travelling  twice  across  the  Atlantic1  before  it  reached 
the  customer  in  the  form  of  furniture  or  even  barrels. 

Here  was  a  pretty  kettle  of  fish.  For  the  moment,  how 
ever,  injustice  and  resentment  were  alike  stayed  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  again  strained  relations  with  France.  In  the 
year  following  the  Peace,  the  Ohio  Land  Company  had  been 
formed  in  territory  claimed  by  the  French.  This  led  to 
continual  bickering  amongst  the  trading  parties  as  they  met 
in  the  wilderness.  Each  nation  prepared  for  a  grapple  to 
the  death,  the  French  stringing  a  chain  of  sixty  forts  along 
their  marches,  following  the  St.  Lawrence,  Ohio,  and 
Mississippi  rivers,  linking  Canada  to  the  Gulf,  while  the 
Royal  Governors  and  leading  men  of  the  several  Provinces 
gathered  at  Albany  2  to  consider  some  form  of  union  by 
which  measures  of  defence,  and  the  expenses  incident,  could 
be  met  without  the  tedious  and  perilous  delays  of  special 
Provincial  appropriations.  The  danger  threatened  a  wide 
range  of  territory.  The  Provinces,  to  meet  it  ably,  needed 
to  act  as  a  unit  writh  a  Continental  treasury  to  draw  from. 

But  the  time  was  not  yet  ripe  for  joint  action,  and 
meanwhile  the  storm  broke.  Moved  by  the  representa 
tions  of  George  Washington,  a  lad  of  twenty-one,  sent  by 
Governor  Robert  Dinwiddie  to  mark  the  French  encroach 
ments,  the  Virginia  Assembly  resolved  to  establish  an 
English  post  at  the  fork  of  the  Alleghany  and  Monongahela. 
Before  this  could  be  achieved,  the  advance  forces  were 
repulsed,  and  the  last  French  war,  known  in  Europe  as  the 
Seven  Years  War,  opened.  A  few  months  later  the  news 
of  General  Braddock's  defeat  surprised  the  country,  al 
though  those  who  had  witnessed  his  impatience  of  sugges 
tion  from  the  Colonial  officers,  as  one  contemporary  letter  * 

1  The  Story  of  American  History,  143.     Alfred  V.  Blaisdell.     Boston,   1900: 
Ginn  &  Company. 

2  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  Chap.  3.     Jedidiah  Morse.     Hartford, 
1824. 

3  Letters  of  James  Murray,  Loyalist,  edited  by  Nina  Moore  Tiffany,  assisted 
by  Susan  I.  Lesley.     Printed,  not  published,  Boston,  1901.     Copyright  by  Susan 
I.  Lesley,  1901. 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  7 

puts  it,  "saw  him  by  council  and  conduct  a  bird  ready  for 
the  snare." 

This  year  the  Acadians  were  expelled  under  the  super 
vision  of  Colonel  John  Winslow  of  Marshfield,  Massachu 
setts,  because  their  disaffection  was  held  to  be  a  menace 
to  the  English  rule; *  it  also  brought  the  rank  of  knighthood 
to  General  William  Johnson  of  Johnstown,  New  York,  for 
successfully  repelling  the  French  near  Fort  Edward  and 
securing  the  northern  frontier. 

The  following  year  Lord  Loudon  was  sent  out  as  Com 
mander-in-chief.  His  character  may  be  inferred  from  the 
clever  description  comparing  him  2  to  St.  George  on  the 
Sign,  "always  on  horse  back  and  never  rides  on."  The 
French  Commander  Montcalm  was  more  than  his  match, 
and  took  Oswego,  the  key  of  Lake  Ontario,  a  day  after  the 
English  relief  column  left  Albany. 

London's  subsequent  conduct  was  of  a  piece  with  this 
beginning;  indeed  he  accomplished  little  beyond  creating 
bad  blood  by  his  contemptuous  treatment  of  the  Colonial 
officers.  It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion  Brigadier  Timothy 
Ruggles,  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Massachusetts  troops, 
was  held  subordinate  to  a  British  ensign.3  He  also  gave 
deep  offence  by  forcibly  billeting  his  officers  in  free  quarters 
in  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  The  Bostonians  were 
given  forty-eight  hours  to  reflect  upon  their  refusal  to  meet 
his  pleasure  in  this  respect,  Loudon  informing  Governor 
Pownall  that,  upon  the  messenger's  return,  if  things  were 
not  settled,  he  should  instantly  order  into  Boston  the 
three  battalions  from  New  York,  Long  Island,  and  Connecti 
cut;  and  if  more  were  wanted,  he  had  two  in  the  Jerseys, 
besides  three  in  Pennsylvania.4  The  troops  were  actually 

1  Memorial     History     of      Boston,    II,    122.     Colonel     Thomas    ^Yentworth 
Higginson. 

2  A  Popular  History  of  the  United  States,  III,  280.     William  Cullen  Bryant 
and  Sydney  Howard  Gay.     New  York,  1889:  Charles  Seribner's  Sons. 

3  Annals      of     the      American      Revolution,     209,     quoting      John      Adams. 
Morse. 

4  Our  Country,  I,  509.     Lossing. 


8     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

in  motion  when,  happily,  Pitt  was  placed  at  the  helm  and 
Loudon  recalled. 

Pitt  undertook  that  England  should  find  arms,  ammu 
nition,  and  tents,  calling  upon  the  Colonists  for  twenty 
thousand  men,  and  promising  that  the  King  should  desire 
Parliament  to  make  fit  return  for  expenditure  in  pay  and 
clothing  for  the  troops,  at  the  same  time  recognizing  the  rank 
of  the  Colonial  officers.1  An  excess  of  levies  was  swiftly 
ready;  New  England  alone  furnishing  fifteen  thousand 
men,  Pennsylvania  three  thousand,  New  York  twenty-seven 
hundred,  New  Jersey  one  thousand,  Virginia  two  thousand, 
besides  others  from  the  South.  Massachusetts  also  supplied 
by  public  and  private  advances  more  than  one  million  dollars 
during  the  year  1758,  the  Colony  taxes,  although  often  equal 
to  two-thirds  of  the  tax-payer's  income,2  being  cheerfully  met. 

Writing  to  Pitt  of  the  Province's  exertions,  Governor 
Pownall  said,3  "It  is  certain  that  the  Country  has  been  .  .  . 
preserved  by  the  efforts  which  this  Province  has  made. 
It  ever  did,  ever  will,  and  ever  must  take  the  lead  when  any 
spirited  measure  is  expected."  The  campaign  now  open 
ing  was  to  carry  out  Shirley's  plans,  brought  to  naught  in 
1756  by  London's  inefficiency. 

July  26,  Louisburg  fell  before  the  forces  of  Sir  Jeffrey 
Amherst  and  Admiral  Boscawen.  Earlier  in  the  month 
Viscount  Lord  Howe  had  been  killed  in  an  unsuccessful 
attempt  upon  Ticonderoga  made  by  Abercrombie.  A  monu 
ment  erected  to  his  memory  by  Massachusetts  may  be  seen 
to  this  day  in  Westminster  Abbey,  representing  the  Genius 
of  the  Province  mourning  his  early  loss.  From  this  time 
onward  victory  followed  upon  victory,  not  the  least  of  the 
gains  being  the  insight  the  Colonial  soldiers  were  getting 
into  disciplined  war. 

In  November,  Fort  Du  Quesne  was  taken,  and  renamed 

1  Our  Country,  I,  569.      Lossing. 

2  The  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  I,  137-9.     Rev.  William  Gordon. 

3  The   Thirteen  Colonies,  I,   275.     Helen  Ainslie  Smith.     New  York,   1901: 
G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  9 

Pitt  (now  Pittsburg),  thus  securing  the  Ohio  basin;  the 
control  of  the  Lakes  and  capture  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point  speedily  followed.  September  13,  1759,  after  clamber 
ing  300  feet  above  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Plains  of 
Abraham,  the  British  took  Quebec;  Wolfe  dying  at  the  early 
age  of  thirty-three  in  the  hour  of  victory.  The  news 
travelled  slowly  back  to  New  England,  and  Parson  Bridge 
of  Chelmsford  records,  October  25,  the  letting  off  of  six  sky 
rockets  1  as  a  modest  expression  of  joy.  In  less  than  a 
year  Montreal  had  likewise  fallen  and  France  was  no  more 
to  be  feared  in  the  New  World.  In  October,  1760,  George  II. 
died  suddenly  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven.  His  namesake 
and  heir,  born  in  London,  1738,  son  of  the  late  Frederick, 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  the  Princess  of  Saxe-Gotha,  was  riding 
with  his  tutor,  Lord  Bute,  near  Kew  Palace  when  told  of  his 
grandfather's  death. 

We  have  Thackeray's  word  for  it 2  that  the  young 
King's  "moderation,  his  frugal  simplicity,  and  God-fearing 
life,  tended  infinitely  to  improve  the  morals  of  his  Court 
and  purify  the  whole  nation."  He  and  his  wife,  the  Prin 
cess  Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz,  "had  the  simplest 
pleasures  .  .  .  little  country  dances,  to  which  a  dozen 
couples  were  invited,  and  where  the  honest  King  would  stand 
up  and  dance  for  three  hours  at  a  time  to  one  tune;  after 
which  delicious  excitement  they  would  go  to  bed  .  .  .  and 
get  up  quite  early  the  next  morning,  and  perhaps  the  next 
night  have  another  dance;  or  the  Queen  would  play  on  the 
spinet  ...  or  the  King  would  read  to  her  a  paper  out  of 
the  Spectator.  ...  As  long  as  his  mother  lived,  a  dozen 
years  after  his  marriage  ...  he  was  a  great,  shy,  awk 
ward  boy,  under  the  tutelage  of  that  hard  parent.  .  .  . 
'  George,  be  a  King '  were  the  words  which  she  was  forever 
croaking  in  the  ear  of  her  son;  and  a  King  the  simple,  stub 
born,  affectionate,  bigoted  man  tried  to  be."  Some  auto- 

1  Beside    Old    Hearth-Stones,   253.     Abram    English    Brown.     Boston,    1897: 
Lee  &  Shepard. 

2  The  Four  Georges.     William  Makepeace  Thackeray.     "George  the  Third." 


10  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

biographical  notes  l  let  us  most  curiously  into  the  state  of 
his  mind.  "The  times  certainly  require,"  says  he,  "the 
concurrence  of  all  who  wish  to  prevent  anarchy.  I  have 
no  wish  but  the  prosperity  of  my  own  dominions,  therefore 
I  must  look  upon  all  who  would  not  heartily  assist  me  as 
bad  men,  as  well  as  bad  subjects.  I  wish  nothing  but 
good,  therefore  every  man  who  does  not  agree  with  me  is 
a  traitor  and  a  scoundrel." 

Unhappily  for  England,  the  King's  absoluteness  of 
temper,  combined  with  his  limited  judgment,  led  him  to 
reject  the  help  of  Pitt's  wise  counsel  and  trust  to  his  own 
inspiration,  under  the  guidance  of  his  unpopular  mother  and 
her  Scotch  favorite. 

In  order  to  break  the  power  of  the  great  Whig  families  2 
who  had  held  office  uninterruptedly  since  the  House  of 
Brunswick  came  to  the  throne  —  now  stronger  than  ever 
in  these  days  of  victorious  war  —  the  King,  his  mother, 
and  Lord  Bute  bent  all  their  energies  toward  accomplishing 
a  peace  with  France,  careless  of  England's  loss  of  prestige, 
so  a  spirit  of  faction  should  be  roused  that  would  play  into 
their  hands.  - 

Pitt,  who  had  carried  the  country  triumphantly  forward 
to  its  then  high  pitch,  noted  the  growing  disunion;  "some," 
said  he,  "are  for  keeping  Canada;  some  Guadeloupe;  who 
will  tell  me  which  I  shall  be  hanged  for  not  keeping?"2 
Spain,  meanwhile,  accounting  herself  secure  through  a 
family  compact  with  France,  —  after  years  of  negotiation 
regarding  the  acquisition  of  fishery  rights  on  the  Banks  and 
the  enforced  abandonment  of  an  English  settlement  for 
securing  logwood  in  Honduras,  —  seized  on  this  moment 
of  dissension  to  press  for  an  immediate  compliance  with  her 
demands.  Pitt  could  ill  brook  the  affront  and  would  have 
declared  war  forthwith;  but  lacking  the  King's  support  and 

1  Appended  to  Lord  Brougham's  biographical  sketch  of  Lord  North,  see   The 
Four  Georges.     Thackeray. 

2  Memoirs  of  the  Reign  of  King  George  the  Third.     Horace  Walpole,  re-edited 
by  G.  F.  Russell  Barker.     I,  Preface,  xxi,  42,  26.     London,  1894:  Lawrence  and 
Bullen. 


KING  GEORGE  THE  THIRD 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  11 

opposed  by  Bute,  he  was  compelled  to  resign,  and  accord 
ingly  retired  to  his  country  seat  at  Hayes,  Kent,  in  the  fall 
of  1761,  accepting  the  honorary  title  of  Baroness  Chatham 
for  his  wife,  and  a  pension  of  £3000  a  year.1 

The  "imbecility  of  a  few  more  last  words"  2  was  now 
apparent,  since  in  the  interval  the  Spanish  treasure  ships 
had  safely  made  port  and  a  golden  opportunity  to  replenish 
the  exchequer,  without  expense  to  the  Colonies,  had  been 
lost. 

The  King's  mother  lived  at  this  time  in  Carlton  House, 
Lord  Bute  sometimes  taking  tea  with  her  in  its  beautiful 
grounds,  conferring  possibly  upon  the  botanical  gardens  at 
Kew,  recently  founded  by  the  Princess  at  his  suggestion. 
Lord  Bute  was  fond  of  botany,  and  published  a  work  on 
English  plants  in  nine  quarto  volumes  at  his  own  expense. 
Mrs.  Delaney  3  writes  to  her  brother,  "I  don't  know  if  you 
are  acquainted  with  Lord  Bute  but  by  publick  character, 
which  is  little  to  be  depended  on  and  seldom  just  in  praise 
(or  dispraise)."  And  Thackeray  says  of  the  Princess 
Dowager,4  "The  grave,  lean,  demure  woman  was,  I  dare 
say,  as  good  as  her  neighbors,"  but  this  did  not  save  Bute 
from  being  taunted  as  "Lothario,"  and  "Impeach  the 
King's  mother"  was  scribbled  over  every  wall  at  the  Court 
end  of  the  town,  while  notices  were  even  posted  upon  the 
Royal  Exchange,  "No  petticoat  government,  no  Scotch 
minister,  no  Lord  George  Sackville!"  5  Here  were  elements 
of  danger,  supposing  the  country  in  a  heyday  of  pros 
perity  instead  of  laboring  under  the  burdens  of  a  prolonged 
war. 

In  August,  1760,  Bernard  had  succeeded  Pownall  as 
Governor  in  Massachusetts,  with  Thomas  Hutchinson  for 

1  Memoirs,  I,  65.      Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

2  A  Complete  Collection  of  the  Genuine  Papers,  Letters,  &c.  in  the  Case  of  John 
Wilkes,  Esq.,  226,  266,  241,  260,  250;  a  Paris,  MDCCLXVII. 

J  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Mrv.  Delany,  II,  229;  317,  note.  Edited  by 
Sarah  Chauncey  Woolsey.  Boston,  1898:  Little,  Brown  and  Company. 

4  The  Four  Georges.     "  George  the  Third." 

5  Memoirs,  I,  13-4.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 


12    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Lieu  tenant- Governor.  Intercourse  having  reopened  with 
the  French  West  Indies,  —  indeed,  having  been  maintained, 
so  it  was  alleged,  by  smuggling,  to  the  advantage  of  the  New 
Englanders  and  sustenance  of  the  enemy,  during  the  late 
war,1  —  England  renewed  her  attempt  to  enforce  the  laws 
of  trade,  notwithstanding,  to  quote2  John  Adams,  "there 
never  had  been  a  time  when  they  would  have  been  or  could 
have  been  obeyed;"  the  customary  practice  having3  been 
to  entertain  the  revenue  officer  on  making  port,  and  send 
him  contentedly  away  with  a  half  pipe  of  Madeira  and  no 
questions  asked.  To  help  in  the  collection  of  the  home 
revenue  the  Court  of  Exchequer  had  recently  granted  Writs 
of  Assistance  empowering  any  custom  officer  at  pleasure  to 
issue  search  warrants  commanding  all  sheriffs  and  con 
stables  to  attend  and  aid  the  holder  in  breaking  open,2  at 
any  and  all  hours,  both  warehouses  and  private  houses, 
stores,  shops,  cellars,  ships,  bales,  trunks,  chests,  casks,  or 
packages  in  search  of  smuggled  goods  and  articles.  With 
a  brisk  trade  and  strictly  enforced  laws,  the  scheme 
promised  well  upon  paper.  Foreseeing,  however,  there 
might  be  some  difficulties  at  first,  the  collector  of  customs, 
Charles  Paxton,  a  Boston  man,  was  impowered  by  Par 
liament  to  demand,  without  oath,  Writs  of  Assistance  as 
he  saw  occasion. 

November,  1760,  an  application  was  accordingly  made  2 
by  Mr.  Cockle,  deputy  collector  in  Salem,  to  the  Supreme 
Court  there  in  session.  Chief  Justice  Stephen  Sewall,  a 
good  Whig,  had  grave  doubts  of  the  Court's  power  to  grant 
such  writs;  but,  as  the  application  came  from  the  Crown, 
ordered  the  case  to  be  argued  at  the  February  session  in 
Boston. 

In  the  interval  Sewall  died   and   Lieutenant-Governor 

1  The  American  Revolution,  being  the  Chapters  and  Passages  Relating  to  America 
from  the  History  of  England  in  the  Eighteenth   Century,    47.      William  Edward 
Hartpole  Leoky;  edited  by  James  Albert  Woodburn.     New  York,  1898:  D.  Apple- 
ton  &  Sons. 

2  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  224.     Morse. 

3  Proceedings  Eostonian  Society,  January  10,  1893. 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  13 

Hutchinson  was  appointed  in  his  room,1  despite  the  late 
Governor  having  promised  the  appointment  to  James 
Otis,  Sr. 

In  bringing  the  case  to  trial  the  point  made  was:  Shall 
the  persons  employed  in  enforcing  the  Acts  of  Trade  have 
the  power  to  invoke  generally  the  assistance  of  all  the  ex 
ecutive  officers  of  the  Colony?  It  will  be  easily  seen  what 
extraordinary  power  was  demanded  when  it  is  remembered 
that  an  ordinary  search  warrant  could  only  be  granted  in 
open  court  and  used  to  claim  specified  goods  at  a  definite 
place.  If,  for  example,  one  was  made  out  for  No.  10  Griffen's 
Wharf,  and  it  was  seen  through  chinks  in  the  warehouse 
that  the  cargo  had  been  shifted  next  door,  a  fresh  warrant 
must  be  made  out,  making  the  chances  of  seizure  small. 
The  innovation  was  of  so  dangerous  a  nature,  no  less  than 
fifty-eight  eminent  merchants  petitioned  against  the  measure. 
Finding  this  of  no  avail,  they  tried  to  get  Benjamin  Pratt 
to  defend  their  side.  When  he  declined,  the  younger  Otis 
and  Thatcher  were  applied  to  and  agreed  to  act,  Otis,  and 
it  is  thought,  Thatcher  as  well,  scorning  a  fee. 

James  Otis,  Jr.,  a  native  of  West  Barnstable,  fifth  in 
line  from  John  Otis  of  Hingham,  Norfolk,  England,  was 
now  thirty-six  years  of  age,  and  in  the  heat  of  his  zeal  did 
not  hesitate  to  resign  his  office  of  Advocate-General. 

This  memorable  trial  was  held  in  the  Old  State  House, 
still  standing  in  Boston  at  the  head  of  State,  then  King, 
Street.  Five  judges,2  Benjamin  Lynde,  John  Cushing, 
Chambers  Russell,  and  Peter  Oliver  sat  in  the  Council 
Chamber  near  a  great  fire;  Chief  Justice  Thomas  Hutchin 
son  presiding.  They  were  robed  in  scarlet  broadcloth,  with 
large  cambric  bands  and  immense  wigs.  All  the  barristers- 
at-law  of  Boston  and  Middlesex  County  were  also  attend 
ing,  seated  at  a  long  table  in  gowns,  bands,  and  tie  wigs. 
"In  a  corner  of  the  room  must  be  placed  Wit,  Sense,  Imag 
ination,  Genius,  Pathos,  Reason,  Prudence,  Eloquence, 

1  Life  of  Thomas  Hutchinson,  47-8.     Hosmer. 

2  History  of  Boston,  2-1-8.     Caleb  Hopkins  Snow.     Boston,  1825. 


14     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Learning,  Science  and  immense  Reading,  hung  by  shoulders 
on  two  crutches,  covered  with  a  cloth  greatcoat,  in  the 
person  of  Mr.  Pratt  (husband  of  old  Judge  Auchmuty's 
daughter),  who  had  been  solicited  on  both  sides,  but  would 
engage  on  neither,  being  about  to  leave  Boston  forever,  as 
Chief  Justice  of  New  York."  Elsewhere  Adams  says  of 
him,  he  had  "looked  with  wonder  to  see  such  a  little  body 
hung  upon  two  sticks  send  forth  such  eloquence  and  displays 
of  mind." 

Two  portraits  at  more  than  full  length  of  King  Charles 
II.  and  King  James  II.,  in  splendid  gold  frames,  were  hung 
up  on  the  most  conspicuous  side  of  the  apartment.  The 
"colors  of  their  long  flowing  robes  and  their  royal  ermines 
were  most  glowing,  the  figures  noble  and  graceful,  the 
features  distinct  and  characteristic.  I  believe  they  were 
Vandykes." 

John  Adams,  who  preserves  this  scene  for  us,1  had  been 
admitted  barrister  that  term  and  tells  us  that  "short  and 
thick"  he  was,  "seated  at  the  table  pen  in  hand  lost  in  ad 
miration."  Attorney-General  Jeremy  Gridley,  who  opened 
the  case  for  the  Crown,  was  at  this  time  a  resident  of  Brook- 
line,  where  he  died,  1767,  aged  sixty-five,  in  the  house 
opposite  the  Old  Reservoir  on  Warren  Street,  later  known 
as  Commissioner  Hulton's. 

In  1755-56  Gridley  was  the  town's  representative.  At 
this  time  he  was  one  of  its  selectmen.  His  plea  was  tem 
perate  and  made  to  depend  on  this  consideration-  "If 
the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  is  the  sovereign  legislator 
of  Great  Britain." 

Oxenbridge  Thatcher,  forty-one  years  of  age,  a  man 
universally  beloved,  of  slight  build  and  a  delicate  consti 
tution,  followed  with  the  "softness  of  manners,  the  ingenu 
ity,  the  cool  reasoning,  which  were  peculiar  to  his  amiable 
character." 

Otis  spoke  next,  "treating  his  Master  (Gridley)  with  all 

1  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  223-5.     Morse. 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  15 

the  deference,  respect,1  esteem,  and  affection  of  a  son  to  a 
father,  and  that  without  the  least  affectation,  while  he 
baffled  and  confounded  all  his  authorities,  confuted  all  his 
argument,  and  reduced  him  to  silence."  The  fine  wall 
decoration  in  the  State  House,  by  Robert  Reid,  which  has 
added  a  fresh  distinction  to  Boston,  shows  Otis  passionately 
protesting:  "I  will  to  my  dying  day  oppose  with  all  the 
powers  and  faculties  God  has  given  me  all  such  instruments 
of  slavery  on  the  one  hand  and  villainy  on  the  other  as  this 
Writ  of  Assistance  is.  Whether  they  break  through  malice 
or  revenge,  no  man,  no  court,  may  inquire.  I  am  deter 
mined  to  sacrifice  estate,  ease,  health,  applause,  and  even 
life  to  the  sacred  calls  of  my  country,  in  opposition  to  a 
kind  of  power,  the  exercise  of  which  cost  one  King  his  head 
and  another  his  throne."  He  spoke  for  five  hours  2  and  at 
the  close,  "Every  man  of  an  immense  crowded  audience," 
writes  John  Adams,  "appeared  to  me  to  go  away,  as  I  did, 
ready  to  take  arms  against  Writs  of  Assistance.  Then  and 
there  was  the  first  scene  of  the  first  act  of  opposition  to  the 
arbitrary  claims  of  Great  Britain.  Then  and  there  the  Child 
Independence  was  born."  A  decision  was,  however,  with 
held  by  Hutchinson,  who  deferred  to  the  judgment  of  the 
home  government.  And  at  the  final  hearing  3  before  the 
Superior  Court,  although  all  the  arguments  told  against 
the  Writs,  judgment  was  immediately  given  in  their 
favor. 

Otis  by  his  bold  stand  had  won  many  friends,  and  no 
time  was  lost  in  making  him  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  This  was  felt  to  be  a  blow  to  the  Tory 
interests,  and  John  Adams,  who  was  in  attendance  at  a  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  in  Worcester,  tells  us,  when  the  news 
came  Chief  Justice  Ruggles  (Brigadier-General  Timothy) 

1  Life  of  James  0/w,  50.     Jared   Sparks.     Boston,   1847:   Charles  C.  Little 
&  James  Brown. 

2  Memorial    History     of    Boston,     III,      5,     note.     Justin     Winsor.      "  The 
Beginning  of  the  Revolution,"  by  Rev.  Edward  G.  Porter.      Boston,  1881:  James 
R.  Osgood  and  Company. 

3  History  of  Boston,  251.     Caleb  Hopkins  Snow.     Boston,  1825. 


16  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

exclaimed,  "Out  of  this  election  will  arise  a  damn'd  faction, 
which  will  shake  this  Province  to  its  foundation."1  He 
was  indeed  a  man  to  be  reckoned  with,  tenacious  of  popular 
rights  and  stout  in  opposition. 

In  1762  he  took  exception  to  the  Governor  and  Council 
having  made  a  small  appropriation2  (£72)  for  the  Colony's 
armed  sloop  to  cruise  off  Newfoundland  and  observe  some 
reported  French  ships,  without  first  consulting  the  Assembly. 
"No  necessity  can  be  sufficient,"  he  remonstrated,  "to 
justify  a  House  of  Representatives  giving  up  such  a  privi 
lege;  for  it  would  be  of  little  consequence  to  the  people 
whether  they  were  subject  to  George  or  Louis,  the  King  of 
Great  Britain  or  the  French  King,  if  both  were  arbitrary, 
as  both  would  be  if  both  could  levy  taxes  without  Parlia 
ment  . "  "  Treason !  treason ! ' '  cried  Timothy  Paine,  member 
for  Worcester.2  But  Otis  was  no  whit  abashed,  and  on  the 
adjournment  of  the  Legislature  published  "A  Vindication 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,"  wherein  he  argued  sar 
castically,  "No  government  has  a  right  to  make  hobby 
horses,  asses  and  slaves  of  the  subject;  nature  having  made 
sufficient  of  the  two  former  for  all  the  lawful  purposes  of 
man  .  .  .  but  none  of  the  last,  which  infallibly  proves  they 
are  unnecessary." 

Since  the  war  with  Spain  opened,  Manila  had  been 
seized  in  the  East  and  Havana  taken  in  the  West  Indies 
by  the  allied  British  and  Colonial  forces.  These  extended 
operations  called  for  great  skill  on  the  part  of  the  Parlia 
mentary  leaders,  and  confidence  from  their  following.  Un 
luckily  Sir  Francis  Dashwood,  at  this  time  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer,  had  the  name  of  being  unable  to  cast  sums 
of  five  figures,3  and  from  puzzling  all  his  life  at  tavern  bills 
found  himself  compelled  to  administer  the  finances  of  a 
kingdom  above  £100,000,000  in  debt.  However  this  may 

1  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  226.     Morse. 

2  History  of  Boston,  252-3.     bnow. 

3  Early   History   of  Charles   James   For,  26,  quoting  Wilkes.      George  Otto 
Trevelyan,  M.  P.     New  York,  1880:  Harper  &  Brothers. 


SIR  FRANCIS  DASIIWOOD 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  17 

be,  his  confused  financial  statement,  when  presented  in  1762, 
was  received  by  the  House  with  roars  of  laughter.  Dash- 
wood,  in  a  comical  fit  of  despair,  said:  "What  shall  I  do? 
The  boys  will  point  at  me  in  the  street,  and  cry,  'There 
goes  the  worst  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  that  ever 
was."  George  Grenville,  Secretary  of  State,  came  to  his 
rescue  at  this  point,  harping  on  the  necessity  of  a  tax  —  and 
where  would  they  have  it?  Gazing  on  the  Opposition,  he 
droned,  "Let  them  tell  me  where,  I  say,  sir,  tell  me  where, 
I  repeat  it,  sir,  I  am  entitled  to  say  to  them,  let  them  tell 
me  where." 

His  brother-in-law,  Pitt,  much  diverted,  hummed  a 
popular  air  of  the  day: 

"Gentle  Shepherd,  tell  me  where  ..." 

and  left  the  House,1  creating  a  great  stir. 

Grenville  shortly  after  superseded  Dashwood  and  asso 
ciated  with  him  the  Duke  of  Bedford  as  Lord  President  of 
the  Council,  looking  for  support  to  the  Bloomsbury  crew. 
He  was  a  bit  better  than  his  following:  at  least  "could  he 
have  enforced  the  payment  of  the  Manila  ransom,"  said 
Johnson,  "  he  could  have  counted  it ! " 2  As  Pitt  pointed  out, 
the  recent  conquests  had  carried  away  from  France  four  1 
considerable  trades:  the  slave  trade  in  Africa;  the  exclusive 
trade  of  the  Indies;  the  fishery  off  the  Banks;  and,  save  for 
the  trifling  exception  of  San  Domingo,  the  West  Indian 
sugar  trade.  Notwithstanding  which  a  peace  was  proposed 
which  left  the  fishery  question  where  it  was  in  the  beginning; 
returned  Havana,  Guadeloupe,  and  Manila,  while  retain 
ing  Canada  and  Florida;  acquisitions  which  Beckford  was 
pleased  to  compare  to  Bagshot  Heath  1  for  barrenness. 
Well  might  the  Princess  Dowager1  exclaim  at  the  signing 
of  the  preliminaries,  "Now  is  my  son  indeed  King!"  The 
vote  had  stood  319  to  65;  a1  shop  having  been  publicly 
opened  at  the  Pay  Office  and  as  much  as  £25,000  admittedly 

1  Memoirs,  I,  198,  179,  174,  184.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

2  "A  Forgotten  Friend  of  America."     Henry  Seymour  Conway.     New  England 
Magazine,  October.  1898. 


18  BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

disbursed  in  one  morning  to  secure  a  majority.1  The  terms 
were  distasteful  to  the  Whigs,  who  did  not  scruple  to  say 
Bute  had  been  bribed.  "If  you  order  a  mason  to  build  an 
oven,"  writes  Mrs.  Montague,  "he  immediately  inquires 
about  the  progress  of  the  Peace,  and  descants  on  the  pre 
liminaries.  A  Carpenter,  instead  of  putting  up  a  shelf  to  a 
cupboard,  talks  of  the  Princess  Dowager  .  .  .  the  mortar 
dries  and  the  glue  hardens  while  the  persons  who  should 
use  them  are  busied  with  dissertations  on  Government."  2 
Already  Bute's  alleged  partiality  in  promoting  the  Scotch 
had  made  him  the  subject  of  caricature,  and  at  length  his 
fate  was  sealed  by  a  tax  laid  on  cider. 

He  was  hooted  in  the  streets  and  mobs  gathered  to  burn 
a  jackboot  in  punning  reference  to  his  title  John  Stuart, 
Earl  of  Bute,  or  a  yellow  petticoat  and  a  boot,  in  allusion  to 
the  Princess  Dowager's  supposed  influence.  "Behold,"  read 
the  label  on  an  effigy  displayed  near  Honiton  in  Devonshire : 3 

Behold  the  man  who  made  the  yoke 
Which  doth  Old  England's  sons  provoke. 
And  now  he  hangs  upon  a  tree 
An  emblem  of  our  liberty. 

Now  Britons  all  join  hand  in  hand 
His  sly-schemed  project  to  withstand, 
That  all  our  sons,  as  well  as  we, 
May  have  our  cider  go  Scott  free. 

Forced  to  resign,  he  abandoned  Lansdowne  House,  then 
in  process  of  building,  to  Lord  Shelburne  and  in  April,  1763, 
was  succeeded  by  George  Grenville.  In  the  same  month 
John  Wilkes,  member  for  Aylesbury,  attacked  the  King's 
speech  in  No.  45  of  the  North  Briton  —  so  called  in  oppo 
sition  to  Lord  Bute's  organ,  The  Briton,  conducted  by 
Smollett.4 

1  Memoirs,  I,  157.     Walpole,   ed.  Barker. 

2  A   Lady  of  the  Last  Century,  Lady   Elizabeth  Montague,  125.     Dr.  Doran, 
F.  S.  A.     Second  edition.     London,  1873:   Richard  Bentley  and  Son. 

3  History  of  Boston,  259.     Snow. 

4  Memoirs,  1,  140-1.     Walpole,  ed.      Barker. 


STAMP  ACT   CAUSES  RIOT  19 

Dwelling  severely  on  the  inglorious  peace;  expressing 
the  resentment  of  the  cider  counties  at  the  new  excise, 
and  justifying  lawful  resistance,  it  glanced  at  the  ill  results 
of  the  encroachments  of  the  Stuart  line,  and  closed  by  draw 
ing  a  distinction  between  the  " present  amiable  sovereign" 
and  his  odious  favorite.  This  plain  speaking  caused  Wilkes' 
arrest  by  a  general  warrant,  granted  without  oath,  contain 
ing  neither  his  name  nor  description,  by  means  of  which  he 
was  confined  in  the  Tower,  sarcastically  desiring,  "if  such  a 
chamber  could  be  found,"  he  might  not  be  lodged  where 
any  Scotchman  had  been  a  prisoner.1  Released  by  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  in  the  end  Wilkes  left  the  country  rather 
than  await  sentence  from  the  King's  Bench,  and  was  out 
lawed  for  "contumacy." 

Colonel  Barre  2  and  General  Con  way  3  were  at  the  same 
time  deprived  of  their  commissions  in  the  army,  for  up 
holding  the  constitutional  liberty  of  the  subject,  thereby 
infringed. 

The  people,  as  might  have  been  expected,  were  strongly 
on  Wilkes'  side,  and  when  a  copy  of  the  North  Briton  was 
publicly  burnt  in  Cheapside,  snatched  it  from  the  flames, 
despite  Sheriff  Harley ,  and  in  an  opposition  bonfire  at  Temple 
Bar  consumed  a  jackboot,  an  epigram  of  the  day  stating: 

Because  the  North  Briton  inflamed  the  whole  Nation 
To  flames  they  commit  it  to  show  detestation: 
But  throughout  Old  England  how  joy  would  have  sped 
Had  the  real  North  Briton  been  burnt  in  its  stead.4 

In  a  letter  to  his  constituents,  writing  of  the  anonymous 
author  of  No.  45,  W'ilkes  subsequently  observed:5  "He 
consider'd  the  liberty  of  the  press  as  the  bulwark  of  all  our 

1  Memoirs,  I,  219.      Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

-Caricature  History  of  the  Georges,  297.  Thomas  Wright.  London,  1898: 
Chatto  &  Windus. 

3  Letters  of  Horace  Walpole,  edited  by   Mrs.   Paget  Toynbee,  VI,   note,  53. 
Oxford,  Clarendon  Press,  MCMIV. 

4  Caricature  History,  297.     Wright. 

6  Complete  Collection  of  the  Genuine  Papers,  Letters,  &c.,  in  the  case  of  John 
Wilkes,  Esq.,  118. 


20     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

liberties,  as  instituted  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  people,  and  he 
seems  to  have  thought  it  the  duty  of  a  political  writer  to 
follow  truth  wherever  it  leads.  In  his  behalf  I  wou'd  ask 
even  Lord  Mansfield,  can  TRUTH  be  a  LIBEL?  Is  it  so  in 
the  King's  Bench?  .  .  .  though  it  has  through  life  prov'd 
much  more  his  enemy  than  his  friend,  yet  surely  he  has 
not  been  used  to  treat  it  as  a  libel." 

The  wholly  accidental  circumstance  of  the  number  of 
Wilkes'  magazine  coinciding  with  the  year  of  the  Scotch 
Rising  lent  fury  to  the  prosecution  and  enthusiasm  to  the 
defence. 

Meanwhile  the  new  Prime  Minister  was  beset  with 
difficulties.  The  National  Debt  —  though  partaking,1  to 
be  sure,  of  the  nature  of  mortgages  on  newly  acquired 
estates  —  had  reached  the  huge  proportions  of  £148,000,000, 
the  annual  interest  alone  was  close  on  £5,0005000,2  and  to 
cap  all,  provision  must  be  made  for  garrisoning  the  added 
territory  ceded  by  the  terms  of  peace.  How  was  all  this 
to  be  met?  England  was  already  groaning  under  her 
burden  of  taxes;  something,  it  was  clear,  must  be  done  for 
her  relief.  Why  not  turn  the  Colonies  directly  to  account, 
it  was  reasoned.  They  had  been  ready  enough  heretofore 
when  a  requisition  was  presented  through  their  Colonial 
legislatures,  there  were  no  tithes  to  pay  in  the  New  World, 
and  their  total  civil  establishment  before  the  war  amounted 
to  little  more  than  £70,000. 2  Let  the  attempt  be  made! 

This  was  not  the  first  time  a  scheme  of  the  kind  had 
been  broached.  In  1739  the  great  financier,  Robert  Walpole, 
later  Earl  of  Orford,  was  urged  to  lay  a  direct  tax  on  the 
Colonies,  but  true  to  his  motto,3  "Let  sleeping  dogs  lie," 
had  declined  to  act.4  Pitt,  likewise,  had  refused  "to  burn 
his  fingers."5  The  attempt  at  this  juncture  was  peculiarly 

1  Social  England,  part  41,  440.  A.  L.  Smith.  London  and  New  York, 
MCMII:  Cassell  &  Company. 

-  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  93.     Morse. 

3  The  Warwick  History  of  England,  116.     London,  1896.     Blackie  &  Son. 

4  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  I,  109.     Gordon. 
6  Our  Country,  I,  609.     Lossing. 


FIELD  MARSHAL  HENRY  SEYMOUR  CONWAY 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  21 

ill-timed  as  the  Colonies  had  spent  $16,000,000  in  defence 
and  had  received  but  a  bare  $5,000,000  in  repayment 
from  the  mother  country.1  Massachusetts  alone  looked 
to  Parliament2  for  £490,000. 

Charles  Townshend,  late  Secretary  of  War,  was  now 
First  Lord  of  Trade.  With  utter  disregard  for  Colonial  sus 
ceptibilities,  he  proposed  to  do  away  with  charter  rights  and 
govern  wholly  by  royal  authority,  making  a  redivision  of  the 
Provincial  boundaries.3  As  a  first  step,  he  purposed  making 
the  Crown  officers  independent  of  the  Assemblies  for  their 
pay,  and  the  maintenance  of  a  standing  army,  with  all  ex 
penses  covered  by  an  exacted  tax.4  One  John  Huske,  a  native 
of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  then  a  member  5  of  Parlia 
ment  for  Maiden,  Essex,  to  curry  favor  asserted  that  a  tax  of 
$2,500,000  would  never  be  felt  in  the  Colonies.  Grenville,6 
North  and  Hunter,  Lords  of  the  Treasury,  accordingly  met  to 
consider  the  proposition  at  the  treasury  office,  10  Downing 
Street.  After  some  debate  it  was  felt  that  a  tax  levied  in  the 
form  of  a  revenue  stamp  upon  necessary  papers  would  be  at 
once  easy  to  collect  and  hard  to  evade.  Secretary  Jenkinson 
was  therefore  desired  to  ask  the  commissioner  of  stamps  to 
draft  a  bill  extending  stamp  duties  to  the  Colonies.6  The 
coming  spring  Grenville  acquainted  Parliament  with  his 
plan  of  levying  $1,000,000  in  this  manner,  and  the  Oppo 
sition  was  asked  if  the  right  to  tax  could  be  questioned. 

Mr.  Beckford  alone  responded,  saying:  "As  we  are 
strong,  I  hope  we  shall  be  merciful."  No  immediate  action 
had  been  urged  and  the  matter  was  left  open  for  discussion. 

Since  the  Colonies  had  come  to  be  regarded  by  the  Tory 
leaders  primarily  as  a  source  of  revenue,  it  colored  all  their 
acts.  This  self -same  year  the  old  trade  regulations  in  the 

1  History  of  the  United  States,  I,  254.     J.  A.  Spencer,  D.D.     New  York,  1858: 
Johnson,  Fry  and  Company. 

2  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  89.     Morse. 

3  The  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  I,  145.     Gordon. 

4  Annah  of  the  American  Revolution,  102.     Morse. 
6  Our  Country,  I,  610.      Lossin^. 

6  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  III,  9.     Rev.  Edward  G.  Porter. 


22    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

West  Indies  lapsed  and  came  up  for  reconsideration.1 
The  trading  restrictions  having  been  so  loosely  interpreted, 
the  Colonies  had  gone  on  as  if  they  did  not  exist,  and  for 
years  had  carried  2  wood  for  builders  and  coopers,  horses, 
and  cattle  to  the  Islands,  and  received  indigo,  cotton, 
sugar,  cocoa,  molasses,  medicinal  drugs,  and  specie  in  ex 
change,  the  bullion  being  accounted  of  special  value  since 
it  enabled  them  to  pay  their  English  correspondents  in 
cash.  Under  the  reorganization,  trade  in  the  West  Indies  was 
made  legal,  but  with  new  and  heavy  duties  laid  on  clayed 
sugar,  coffee,  Madeira  wine,  indigo,  and  other  chief  imports. 
Moreover,  the  duties  were  to  be  paid  in  specie  only,  and, 
further,  it  was  declared  paper  bills  of  credit  for  internal  use 
amongst  the  Colonies  were  to  be  deemed  valueless  after  a 
specified  date  and  no  like  bills  in  future  permitted. 

Inevitably  coin  became  so  scarce3  the  year  showed  a 
shortage  of  £10,000  in  the  customary  orders  from  England. 
The  Colonists  had  their  own  difficulties  at  this  time  from  the 
diminishing  vigor  in  the  virgin  soil  and  their  increased 
numbers,  leaving  a  small  margin  of  spare  crops  for  purposes 
of  trade.  What  with  freight-charges  and  commissions,  even 
under  the  most  favorable  conditions  half  of  the  profit  was 
lost  in  vending  the  rest.  To  check  any  attempt  at  smug 
gling,  Grenville,  while  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  had  already 
introduced  a  new  naval  regulation  by  which  commanders 
of  ships  were  expected  to  act  as  revenue  officers.  Un 
luckily  the  Navy  men  were  fresh  from  overhauling  Dutch 
ships  engaged  in  carrying  arms  to  France,  and  set  roughly 
about  the  business.  This,  coupled  with  a  very  natural 
ignorance  of  the  limits  of  their  new  duties,4  led  to  constant 
friction  from  wrongful  seizures  and  detention. 

Throughout  the  summer  there  was  wrangling  between 

1  Popular  History  of  the  United  States,  III,  335.     Bryant  and  Gay. 

2  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  95.     Morse. 

3  History  of  the  War  of  Independence  of  the  United  States,   I,  37-8.     Charles 
Botta.     Philadelphia,  1820. 

4  History  of  the  War  in  America,  I,  13.     Rev.   James  Murray.     Newcastle- 
upon-Tyne,  1782. 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  23 

the  Newporters  and  officers  under  Rear-Admiral  Colville's 
command,  which  served  little  purpose  beyond  embittering 
public  sentiment.'  When  Grenville's  measures  became 
known  in  Boston,  the  citizens  gathered  in  protest,  with 
Otis  for  chairman,  and  voted  to  send  a  copy  of  his  new 
pamphlet  entitled,  "The  Rights  of  the  British  Colonies 
Asserted  and  Proved,"  to  the  Colonial  agent  in  London, 
Mr.  Mauduit.  This  made  some  little  stir  on  its  arrival, 
for  though  Lord  Littleton  made  light  of  its  influence,  Lord 
Mansfield  remarked,2  "No  man  on  such  a  subject  is  con 
temptible.  It  has  been  said,  'The  man  is  mad.'  What 
then!  One  madman  often  makes  many." 

The  exception  was  not  taken  to  the  tax  in  itself.3  In 
Shirley's  time  taxes  had  been  laid  for  two  years  on  public 
papers  without  comment.  The  objections  rose  solely  from 
Parliament's  assumption  of  supremacy  in  the  Colonies'  in 
ternal  affairs.  For,  as  Sam  Adams  wrote:4  "If  taxes  are 
laid  upon  us  in  any  shape  without  our  having  a  legal  rep 
resentation  where  they  are  laid,  are  we  not  reduced  from 
the  Character  of  Free  Subjects  to  the  miserable  state  of 
tributary  Slaves?  We  claim  British  rights  not  by  Charter 
only!  We  are  born  to  them." 

Samuel  Adams,  the  "Cato  of  New  England,"  who  from 
this  time  stands  in  the  forefront  of  the  contention,  was  born 
in  Purchase  Street,  Boston,  1722,  and  graduated  at  Harvard, 
1740.  Three  years  later,  on  receiving  his  degree  of  M.  A., 
he  wrote  affirmatively  on  the  thesis,  Whether  it  be  lawful 
to  resist  the  supreme  Magistrate,  if  the  Commonwealth 
cannot  otherwise  be  preserved?  He  was  now  forty-two 
years  of  age.  It  is  told 5  of  him  that  on  one  occasion,  having 

1  Historical  Address  of  the    City    of   Newport,   30-2.      William  P.   Sheffield. 
Newport,  1876,  published  by  the  City  Council. 

2  Our  Country,  I,  612.     Lossing. 

3  History   of   Massachusetts,   II,    255.     John   Stetson   Barry.      Boston,    1856: 
Phillips,  Sampson  &  Company. 

4  Our  Country,  I,  611.       Lossing. 

5  Life  of  Samuel  Adams,  I,  167.     William  V.  Wells.     Boston,  1865:  Little  & 
Brown. 


24    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

drawn  up  a  petition  to  the  King,  his  daughter  Hannah 
exclaimed,  "Only  think  of  it,  that  paper  will  soon  be  touched 
by  the  royal  hand!"  "My  dear,"  remarked  Sam  Adams 
dryly,  "it  will  more  likely  be  spurned  by  the  royal  foot." 
In  1764  he  had  married  for  his  second  wife  Elizabeth 
Wells,  the  daughter  of  an  English  merchant,  but  whatever 
Mrs.  Adams'  feelings  may  have  been  as  the  din  of  the  grow 
ing  strife  rose  round  her,  she  never  faltered  as  a  worthy 
helpmate,  caring  for  her  husband's  private  interests,  which 
he  utterly  neglected. 

In  order  that  the  Stamp  Act  might  be  prepared  under- 
standingly,  about  midsummer  the  Earl  of  Halifax  wrote 
to  all  the  Royal  Governors 1  asking  for  lists  of  the 
legal  documents  in  use.  As  a  counterstep  Benjamin 
Franklin,  F.  R.  S.,  already  famous  for  his  discoveries, 
a  member  of  the  French  Academy,  and  bearing  hon 
orary  degrees  from  Oxford,  Edinburgh,  and  St.  Andrews,2 
left  Pennsylvania  to  represent  the  Colonies'  interests  in 
London. 

Eventually,  by  the  efforts  of  the  Colonial  agents, 
some  features  of  the  proposed  act  were  omitted,3  in 
particular  those  affecting  marriage  licenses,  notes  of 
hand,  and  the  registration  of  vessels.  With  the  meeting 
of  Parliament,  arguments  multiplied.  The  Opposition 
would  have  cited  Locke  and  others;  the  Tories  clamored, 
"No  attention  whatever  is  due  to  these  subtile  opinions 
and  vain  abstractions  of  speculative  men."  The  Oppo 
sition  cited  next  the  experiences  of  Greece  and  Rome 
with  their  Colonies.  "Tilly  vally!  a  useless  display  of 
learning,"  again  clamored  the  Tories.  The  Opposition 
retorted:  "It  is  absurd  for  the  people  of  Great  Britain 
to  domineer  over  the  Colonies  in  a  way  they  would  never 
stand  themselves." 

"As  for  representation,"  replied  the  Tories,  "  among  nine 

1  Popular  History  of  the  United  States,  III,  337.     Bryant  and  Gay. 

2  Lives  of  the  Signers  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  271.     Goodrich. 
a  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,    102.     Morse. 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  25 

millions  of  English,  eight  of  them  have  no  voice  in  electing 
members." 

"Two  wrongs  do  not  make  one  right,"  protested  the 
Opposition.  "Beside,  if  Leeds  and  Halifax  elect  no  mem 
bers,  they  bear  a  burden  shared  by  represented  boroughs, 
and  are  secure  of  remedy." 

"The  Colonies  have  had  the  benefit  of  English  credit, 
and  the  specie  paid  by  the  tax  will  be  put  in  circulation 
in  defraying  expenses  for  their  protection.1  They  can  bear 
it  well  enough,"  sulked  the  Tories.  "  Aye,  but  they  owe 
the  merchants  here  $4,000,000  and  so  do  not  own  as  much 
as  would  appear.2  Beside,  in  the  suppression  of  local 
manufactures  to  the  advantage  of  Great  Britain,  all  taxes 
are  comprised  in  one,"  retorted  the  Opposition.1  All  the 
Whig  leaders,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  Bute's  predecessor, 
General  Conway,  Sir  William  Meredith,  Mr.  William 
Dowdeswell,  and  Alderman  Beckford  exerted  themselves. 
In  particular  Colonel  Isaac  Barre,  a  Trinity  graduate,  born 
1726  in  Dublin,  of  Huguenot  descent,  won  lasting  remem 
brance  in  New  England  by  a  speech  delivered  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  February  27,  1765.  Charles  Townshend, 
commenting  on  the  advantages  to  the  Colonies  from  the 
conquest  of  Canada,  had  said,  "And  now  will  these  Ameri 
can  children,  planted  by  our  care,  nourished  up  to  strength 
and  opulence  by  our  indulgence,  and  protected  by  our  arms, 
grudge  to  contribute  their  mite  to  relieve  us  from  the  heavy 
burden  under  which  we  lie?"  Colonel  Barre  had  served 
in  America  with  Wolfe  and  had  a  fuller  understanding  of 
the  Colonies  than  most  of  his  fellow  members.  He  now  3 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  objected  strenuously: 

"They  planted  by  your  care!  No;  your  oppressions 
planted  them  in  America.  They  fled  from  your  tyranny 
to  a  then  uncultivated,  unhospitable  country.  .  .  .  Yet, 

1  History  of  the  War  of  Independence  of  the  United  States,  I,  49,   55,   57-8,  52, 
61,  63-4,  53.     Botta. 

2  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  103.     Morse. 
*  History  of  the  United  States,  I,  261.     Spencer. 


26    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

actuated  by  principles  of  true  English  liberty,  they  met  all 
hardships  with  pleasure,  compared  with  those  they  suffered 
in  their  own  country  from  the  hands  of  those  who  should 
have  been  their  friends. 

"They  nourished  up  by  your  indulgence!  They  grew  up 
by  your  neglect  of  them.  As  soon  as  you  began  to  care 
about  them,  that  care  was  exercised  in  sending  persons  to 
rule  them  in  one  department  and  another,  .  .  .  men  whose 
behavior  on  many  occasions  has  caused  the  blood  of  those 
Sons  of  Liberty  to  recoil  within  them. 

;<  They  protected  by  your  arms!  They  have  nobly  taken  up 
arms  in  your  defence;  have  exerted  a  valor,  amidst  their 
constant  and  laborious  industry,  for  the  defence  of  a  coun 
try  whose  frontier  was  drenched  in  blood,  while  its  interior 
parts  yielded  all  its  little  savings  to  your  emolument.  And 
believe  me  —  remember  I  this  day  told  you  so  —  the  same 
spirit  of  freedom  which  actuated  that  people  at  first  will 
accompany  them  still.  This  people,  I  believe,  are  as  truly 
loyal  as  any  subjects  the  King  has;  but  the  people  are 
jealous  of  their  liberties,  and  who  will  vindicate  them,  if 
ever  they  should  be  violent.  But  the  subject  is  too  deli 
cate;  I  will  say  no  more." 

We  are  indebted  for  this  report  to  Mr.  Jared  Ingersoll, 
one  of  the  agents  for  Connecticut,  present  in  the  gallery, 
who  wrote  to  Governor  Thomas  Fitch,1  "The  whole  House, 
for  a  time,  seemed  to  sit  in  a  state  of  amazement,  intently 
looking  without  replying  a  word."  From  that  time  the 
phrase,  "Sons  of  Liberty,"  as  well  as  Otis'  "Taxation 
without  representation  is  tyranny,"  was  on  every  tongue. 
Unfortunately  the  Commons,  uplifted  by  their  recent 
military  triumphs,  were  more  affronted  than  convinced  by 
the  burst  of  opposition.  They  could  not  endure  to  be 
gainsaid  and  cast  a  heavy  vote,  294  to  42,  in  favor  of  the 
bill.2  At  its  first  reading,  by  a  division  3  they  again  voted 

1  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  105.     Morse. 

2  Popular  History  of  the  United  States,  III,  338.     Bryant  and  Gay. 

3  History  of  the  War  in  America,  I,   22-3.     Murray. 


COLONEL  BARRE 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES   RIOT  27 

245  to  49  that  they  would  not  receive  petitions  from  Vir 
ginia  and  Connecticut.  At  the  second  reading  they  refused 
to  admit  the  protest  of  the  London  merchants.  The  bill 
then  went  up  to  the  Lords,  where  it  passed  easily,  and  March 
22d  was  formally  approved  by  the  King.  The  following 
day  Franklin  wrote  to  his  friend  Charles  Thompson  of 
Philadelphia:1  "The  Sun  of  Liberty  is  set;  the  Americans 
must  light  the  candles  of  industry  and  economy." 

The  first  copy  of  the  act  was  received  in  Boston 
May  26th,  and  soon  Edes  and  Gill  had  printed  copies  on 
sale  in  Court  Street.  "We  .  .  .  the  Commons  of  Great 
Britain,  .  .  ."  so  it  opened,  "have  therefore  resolved  to 
give  &  grant  unto  your  Majesty  the  several  rights  and  duties 
hereinafter  mentioned"  2  —  fifty-five  specific  items  followed 
in  sums  ranging  from  a  ha'penny  to  six  pounds.  A  ream  of 
common  blank  bail  bonds  which  had  formerly  been  sold 
for  £15,  with  stamps  affixed,  could  not  be  had  under  £100. 
Letters  of  administration  must  have  5s.  stamps  attached, 
each  bill  of  lading  called  for  a  4cL  stamp,  and  a  summons 
for  a  shilling.  A  university  degree  required  a  £2  stamp, 
and  in  contracts  with  apprentices  a  Qd.  was  exacted  in  the 
pound  up  to  £50,  and  above  that  a  shilling.  Land  deeds, 
insurance  policies,  even  newspapers,  must  bear  stamps. 
All  persons  who  should  sign,  write,  or  seal,  neglecting  to 
stamp  as  required,  were  subject  to  a  fine  of  £10.  No 
unstamped  instrument  was  held  valid.  To  enroll  an  un 
stamped  deed  entailed  a  fine  of  £20;  moreover,  any  coun 
sellor  neglecting  to  file  or  record  in  due  time  matter  for 
which  duty  was  payable  must  forfeit  £50.  The  counter 
feiting  of  stamps  was  punishable  by  death.  Offenders 
against  the  act  could  be  prosecuted  in  the  Courts  of  Ad 
miralty  and  obliged  to  prove  their  innocence  or  suffer  the 
penalty.  By  this  means  a  client's  case  was  subjected  to 
the  decision  of  a  single  man,  a  creature  of  the  Crown, 
whose  salary  was  to  be  paid  out  of  the  very  forfeitures 

1  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  107.     Morse. 

2  History  of  the  War  in  America,  I,  20-3.     Murray. 


28    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

adjudged  by  himself.  It  was  even  legal  to  bring  an  action 
in  a  distant  court  without  the  defendant  being  entitled 
to  damages  even  though  the  case  was  so  trivial  as  to  be 
dismissed.1 

Objections  poured  in  from  all  sides.  The  people  of 
Wrentham 2  wrote:  "To  pass  sentence  without  benefit 
of  jury,  in  our  opinion  is  contrary  to  the  very  expression  of 
Magna  Charta  —  that  no  freeman  shall  be  amerced  [fined] 
but  by  the  oath  of  good  and  lawful  men  of  the  vicinage,  .  .  . 
this  act  puts  it  in  the  power  of  Mr.  Informer  or  Prosecutor  to 
carry  the  subject  more  than  one  thousand  miles'  distance 
for  trial.  Who,  then,  would  not  pay  a  fine  rather  than  be 
thus  harassed,  guilty  or  not?  What  can  be  worse?"  In 
the  instructions  drafted  by  John  Adams  for  the  town  of 
Quincy,2  we  read:  "What  can  be  wanting  after  this  but  a 
weak  or  wicked  man  for  a  judge  to  render  us  the  most 
sordid  and  forlorn  of  slaves?  We  mean  the  slaves  of  a  slave 
of  the  servants  of  a  minister  of  State."  Little  Medfield  2 
exhorted  her  representative  to  "Honor  the  King,  but  save 
the  country." 

When  Government  laid  a  tax  which  pressed  slightly  on 
all,  a  strong  motive  was  unconsciously  offered  for  united 
action.  The  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  was  sitting  at 
Williamsburg  when  the  news  arrived.  Patrick  Henry,  a 
young  lawyer  of  twenty-nine,  was  so  fired  at  the  tidings 
that  he  brought  forward  five  resolves  to  the  effect  that 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Colony  had  the  sole  right  and 
power  of  laying  taxes  in  the  Colony;  and  followed  with  a 
speech3  in  the  course  of  wrhich  he  exclaimed:  "Csesar  had 
his  Brutus,  Charles  the  First  his  Cromwell,  and  George  the 
Third—  Here  he  was  interrupted  by  the  Speaker, 

1  Pictorial  History  of  the  Western  World,  515.     S.   G.  Goodrich.     Hartford, 
1852. 

2  History  of  Norfolk  County,  Massachusetts.    D.  Hamilton  Hurd.    "  Wrentham," 
648,  Hon.  Samuel  Warner.     "Quincy,  North  Precinct,"  331,  Hon.  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  Jr.      "Medfield,"  444,  W.  S.  Tilden.     Philadelphia,  1884:  J.  W.  Lewis  & 
Company. 

5  History  of  the  United  States,  I,  262-3.     Spencer. 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  29 

Robinson,  with  cries  of  "Treason!  treason!"  Pausing  a 
moment,  he  calmly  concluded-  "may  profit  by  their  ex 
ample.  If  this  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it."  Thomas 
Jefferson,  a  Williamsburg  student  at  the  time,  was  present, 
and  heard  Peyton  Randolph,  the  King's  Attorney,  swear 
he'd  have  given  five  hundred  guineas  for  a  single  vote.1 
The  next  day,  after  great  searchings  for  precedent,  it  was 
thought  wiser  to  cancel  the  last  and  most  pronounced 
resolve,  which  had  been  only  carried  by  a  majority  of  one. 
All  five,  however,  were  immediately  printed  and  received 
with  great  enthusiasm  in  Boston.2 

Not  long  after,  John  Adams  dropped  in  to  see  Oxenbridge 
Thatcher,  who  was  in  failing  health,  and  asked  if  he  had 
read  them.  "Oh  yes,  they  are  men !  they  are  noble  spirits ! " 
Thatcher  answered.  "It  kills  me  to  think  of  the  lethargy 
and  stupidity  that  prevails  here.  I  long  to  be  out.  I  will 
go  out.  I  will  go  out.  I  will  go  into  Court  and  make  a 
speech  which  shall  be  read  after  my  death  as  my  dying  testi 
mony  against  this  infernal  tyranny  which  they  are  bringing 
upon  us."  3  Adams  changed  the  subjectj  thinking  within 
himself  if  his  old  friend  had  not  been  so  long  housed  he 
would  have  felt  that  Massachusetts  was  shoulder  to  shoul 
der  with  Virginia.  In  fact,  at  the  instance  of  the  Otises, 
father  and  son,  who  had  hit  upon  the  project  while  visit 
ing  their  kinsman,  James  Warren,  in  Plymouth,4  Massa 
chusetts  proposed,  within  a  fortnight  of  the  resolves 
being  published,  that  a  Continental  Congress  should  be 
held  the  coming  autumn  in  New  York.  The  new  law 
did  not  take  effect  before  November,  and  much  might 
happen  first. 

Matters  meanwhile  were  in  a  bad  way  in  England.  A 
few  days  after  signing  the  Stamp  Act,  King  George  was 
threatened  with  consumption  and  Grenville,  by  his  Regency 

1  "Jefferson  a  Student  of  Law."     James  Parton,  Atlantic  Monthly,  February 
1872. 

2  History  of  the  United  States,  I,    2G2-3.      Spencer. 
*  Annals  of  the  Revolution,  221.     Ahorse. 

4  The  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  I,  172.     Gordon. 


30    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Bill l  excluding  the  King's  mother  from  the  list  of  possible 
regents  as  first  drawn,  earned  the  ill-will  of  the  Princess 
Dowager  and  Bute.  At  the  earliest  hint  of  a  change  in  the 
ministry,  the  people  in  dismay  clamored  for  Pitt.  Assured 
of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  and  the  local  cider  tax,  he  was 
at  first  tempted  to  resume  the  Premiership.  But  he  con 
tinued  in  retirement  on  failing  to  secure  the  cooperation 
of  his  brother-in-law,  Lord  Temple,  in  the  Treasury,  who 
flinched,2  notwithstanding  his  repugnance  to  Government 
measures,  at  mounting  on  the  downfall  of  his  own  brother. 
The  temper  of  the  public  is  reflected  in  the  caricatures  of 
the  day,3  which  show  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  riding  post 
to  Hayes,  and  a  gouty  foot,  lettered  W.  P.,  projecting  from 
an  Inn  labelled  "Popularity."  At  length,  in  July,  a  new 
Cabinet  was  formed  with  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham  as 
Prime  Minister  and  Conway,  Secretary  of  State,  a  hopeful 
change  for  America.  Soon  after,  in  compliment  to  Pitt, 
Lord  Chief  Justice  Pratt  was  advanced  to  the  peerage  as 
Lord  Camden,  where  his  abilities  acted  as  a  wholesome 
check  on  Lord  Mansfield. 

Early  in  August  Ingersoll  arrived  in  Boston  bearing  the 
stamp  masters'  commissions,  and  a  few  days  later  their 
names  were  made  public,  the  list  running : 4  For  New  Hamp 
shire,  George  Meserve;  Massachusetts,  Andrew  Oliver; 
Rhode  Island,  Augustus  Johnson;  Connecticut,  Jared 
Ingersoll;  New  York,  James  McEvers;  New  Jersey,  William 
Coxe;  Pennsylvania,  John  Hughes;  Maryland,  Zachariah 
Hood;  Virginia,  Colonel  George  Mercer. 

On  the  12th,  the  Prince  of  Wales'  birthday,5  a  general 
holiday,  large  bodies  of  men  wandered  up  and  down  the 
streets  shouting,  "Pitt  and  Liberty!"  and  at  night  lit  a  bon 
fire  in  King  Street.  Two  days  later  6  the  people  of  Boston 

1  Memoirs  of  King  George  the  Third,  II,  69,  108.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

2  Ibid.  132-3. 

3  Caricature  History,  303.     Wright. 

4  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  119.     Morse. 

6  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  III,  12,  13.     Rev.  Edward  G.  Porter. 
8  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States,  86.     Botta. 


GEN.  JAMES  WARREN 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  31 

woke  to  find  Lord  Bute  and  Andrew  Oliver,  Hutchinson's 
brother-in-law,  the  proposed  stamp  distributor  for  Massa 
chusetts,  hung  in  effigy  from  the  Liberty  Tree.  This  tree, 
an  elm,  stood  near  the  southern  entrance  to  Boston,  not 
far  from  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Essex  Streets. 
Thomas  Chase,  a  Son  of  Liberty,  whose  distillery  was  in 
the  neighborhood,  is  said  to  have  had  a  hand  in  the  matter, 
aided  by  Thomas  Crafts,  Benjamin  Edes,  and  others.  An 
attempt  was  made  at  first  to  remove  the  figures,  but  the 
crowd  told  the  Sheriff  they  would  see  to  the  removing 
themselves  in  the  evening.  The  new  Governor,  Bernard, 
a  rather  pompous  man,  called  his  Council  in  the  afternoon, 
but  to  no  better  purpose  since  they  advised  non-inter 
ference.  Of  these  doings,  John  Rowe,  a  merchant,  whose 
name  still  lives  in  Rowe's  Wharf,  writes:  x  "A  great  number 
of  people  assembled  at  Deacon  Elliot's  corner  to  see  the 
stamp  officer  hung  in  effigy,  with  a  libel  on  his  breast,  on 
Deacon  Elliot's  tree,  and  alongside  him  a  boot"  —"green- 
soled,"  by  another  account 2—  "stuffed  with  a  horned  head 
representing  the  Devill  coming  out  of  Bute."  At  dusk  the 
effigies  were  cut  down,  laid  out,  and  carried  on  a  bier  in 
triumph,  from  the  South  End  along  Washington  Street, 
a  throng  following,  stamping  and  shouting  as  they 
went,  "Liberty  and  Property  forever,  no  Stamp!"  On 
reaching  the  Town-house  the  crowd  tramped  noisily 
through  the  building,  entering  by  the  west  door  and 
leaving  by  the  eastern,  passing  directly  below  the  Coun 
cil  Chamber  out  into  King  Street.  From  here  they  went 
on  toward  Oliver's  dock  in  the  direction  of  Fort  Hill,  and 
near  the  corner  of  Kilby  Street  destroyed  a  new  brick 
stamp  office.  Brandishing  pieces  of  the  timber,  the  mob 
pressed  on  to  Oliver's  own  house,  where  they  dashed  in  the 
windows  and  beheaded  his  effigy,  afterwards  climbing  Fort 

1  Diary  of  John  Rowe.     Massachusetts  Historical  Society  Proceedings,  March, 
1895. 

2  Deacon    Tudor  s    Diary ;   17.     Edited    by  William  Tudor.      Boston,   1896: 
Press  of  Wallace  Spooner. 


32    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Hill,  eighty  feet  higher  then,  to  build  a  bonfire  and  burn 
the  remaining  effigy. 

Not  content  to  stop  here,  some  of  the  more  turbulent 
spirits  again  visited  the  house  in  search  of  the  collector 
and  set  about  destroying  the  fence  and  beating  in  the  doors 
on  the  garden  front.  Not  finding  Oliver,  they  next  visited 
two  nearby  houses,  in  one  of  which  he  lay  concealed,  but 
being  told  he  had  fled  to  the  Castle,  they  went  off  and  no 
more  might  have  come  of  it  had  not  the  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor  and  sheriff  l  gone  to  his  house  about  eleven  o'clock, 
one  of  whom  by  an  imprudent  remark  brought  the  mob 
indoors,  where  the  men  ran  wild,  wrecking  the  furniture 
on  the  lower  floor,  while  the  Governor  and  sheriff  sought 
safety  in  flight. 

August  15th  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  Governor 
and  his  Council  offering  £100  L.M.  reward  for  the  dis 
covery  of  any  person  concerned  in  this  outrage.  Oliver 
at  the  same  time  took  pains  to  -have  it  known  that  he  had 
written  over  to  England  resigning  his  appointment.  Upon 
hearing  this  the  people  built  a  second  bonfire  on  Fort  Hill 
and  cheered  at  his  door.2 

The  month,  however,  was  not  to  close  without  another 
undisciplined  outburst,  regretted  alike  by  the  King's 
party  and  the  leaders  among  the  Patriots.  The  26th  of 
August,  at  twilight,  noticing  some  boys  playing  about  a  bon 
fire  in  King  Street,  one  of  the  firewards  went  up  to  put  it 
out,  when  he  was  first  asked  to  "hold!"  in  a  whisper,  and 
then  struck  on  the  arm  and  hustled  aside.  Almost  at  once 
a  particular  whistle  was  piped,  and  innumerable  cries  of 
"Sirrah!  sirrah!"  followed,  upon  which  a  long  train  of  figures 
in  disguise  carrying  bludgeons 3  came  up  and  surrounded 
the  house  in  Tilley's  Alley  -  -  Pearl  Street  -  -  occupied 
by  Charles  Paxton,  Marshal  of  the  Court  of  Admiralty 

1  History  of  Boston,  259.     Snow. 

2  History  of   the  War    of   the    Independence    of    the    United    States,    I,    87. 
Botta. 

8  Ibid.  88. 


STAMP  ACT   CAUSES  RIOT  33 

and  Superintendent  of  the  Port.  Paxton  had  time  to  make 
his  escape,  warned  by  the  noisy  approach  of  such  a  numerous 
body.  And  before  any  damage  was  offered  to  the  property, 
the  owner,  T.  Palmer,  came  forward  and  blandly  invited  all 
present  to  be  his  guests  at  a  neighboring  public  house,1 
where  they  consumed  a  barrel  of  punch.  Rendered  reck 
less  by  drink,  the  mob  surged  on  to  attack  the  house  and 
office  of  William  Story,  Esq.,  Deputy  Registrar  of  the 
Court  of  Admiralty,  which  stood  opposite  the  north  side 
of  the  Court-house.  After  breaking  the  windows,  they 
burst  into  the  office  on  the  ground  floor  and  fed  a  big  bon 
fire  in  King  Street  with  the  files  and  records.  They  then 
took  their  way  to  Hanover  Street  and  drew  up  before  the 
new  house  occupied  by  the  Comptroller  of  the  Customs, 
Benjamin  Hallowell,  Esq.  Some  shattered  the  windows, 
others  tore  down  the  fences,  and  others  again  forced  the 
doors,  and  the  house  was  immediately  overrun,  to  the 
great  injury  of  the  furniture,  wainscoting,  and  china,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  loss  of  £30  in  coin. 

"This  brought  it  to  the  dusk  of  the  evening,"  Deacon 
Tudor  tells  us,2  "though  it  was  a  moonlight  Night  near  the 
full  Moon.  Then  the  Monsters,  being  enflam'd  with  Rum 
&  Wine  which  they  got  in  sd.  Hallo  well's  celler,  proceeded 
with  Shouts  to  the  Dwelling  House  of  the  Hon.l  Thos. 
Hutchinson,  Esq.,  Lieut.  Governor  [on  Garden  Court  Street 
off  of  North  Square]  &  enter 'd  in  a  voyalent  manner." 
Joshua  Henshaw,  writing 3  on  the  28th  to  his  cousin  David, 
says:  "At  Dusk  as  I  was  setting  in  our  front  Room  I  ob 
served  that  Numbers  went  by  in  Gangs,  which  made  me 
mistrustful  that  there  was  something  going  forward,  my 
reading  the  Paper  kept  me  in  till  I  heard  one  and  another 
in  their  Return  Home  telling  some  very  extraordinary 
Things,  for  Instance,  that  there  were  two  Houses  laid  flat 
and  that  they  were  about  a  third.  I  could  no  longer  tarry 

1  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  I,  176.     Gordon. 

2  Deacon  Tudor  s  Diary,  19.      Ed.  Tudor. 

3  N.  E.  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  July,  1878. 


34    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

in  but  thought  I  wou'd  go  at  least  as  far  as  I  might  get  a 
true  Information,  which  I  did  soon  after  I  went  out,  it 
being  late  I  returned." 

Hutchinson's  house  l  was  of  painted  brick,  three  stories 
high  and  as  finely  appointed  as  any  in  the  Province.  The 
entrance  hall  was  spanned  by  a  gilded  arch  and  dignified 
with  busts  and  statuary.  The  arches  of  the  parlor  were 
surmounted  by  the  British  Arms  and  the  lamplight  glanced 
on  rich  San  Domingo  panelling.  The  stateliness  of  the 
library  was  enhanced  by  a  tapestry  hanging,  picturing  the 
Coronation  of  George  II.  At  the  back,  the  grounds  ex 
tended  to  Hanover  and  Fleet  Streets.  The  evening  had 
been  close  and  sultry  and  the  Lieutenant-Governor  was 
sitting  2  at  dinner  with  a  thin  camlet  surtout  over  his  waist 
coat  when  a  friend  brought  him  warning  of  the  disturbances 
outside.  The  younger  children  were  hurried  away  and  some 
attempt  was  made  at  barricading  the  doors  and  windows, 
which  had  been  open  to  catch  every  breath  of  air.  Before 
much  of  a  defence  could  be  effected,  however,  the  main 
door  was  split  open  by  axes.  Hutchinson,  bearing  his 
eldest  daughter,  who  had  returned  to  share  his  fate,  in  his 
arms,  fled  as  the  mob  entered,  and  his  son  stopped  only  to 
hear  the  words,  "D —  him,  he  is  upstairs,  we'll  have  him!" 
before  following  his  example.3  Reverend  Samuel  Mather, 
a  brother-in-law  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  lived  nearby 
on  Moon  Street,  and  toward  his  house,4  Hutchinson  bent  his 
way.  But  the  search  after  his  person  appeared  to  him  to 
be  so  active  he  could  not  take  any  ease  until,  guided  'cross 
lots  through  the  neighboring  gardens  by  his  little  niece 
Hannah,  he  was  respectfully  received  by  Thomas  Edes  and 
ensconced  in  his  bakery  for  the  night. 

Meanwhile  the  rioters  wreaked  their  vengeance  on  the 
house;  fences,  windows,  partitions,  all  were  smashed,  even 

I0ld  Landmarks  of  Boston,  167.  Samuel  Adams  Drake.  Boston,  1900: 
Little,  Brown  and  Company. 

2  Life  of  Thomas  Hutchinson,  93.     Hosmer. 

3  Ibid.  92. 

4  Old  Landmarks  of  Boston,  166.     Drake. 


THE  HUTCIHNPON   HOTSE. 

THE  HUTCHIXSON  HOUSE 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  35 

the  balcony  on  the  top  of  the  house  was  wrenched  off  and 
a  "large  Cupola  or  Lanthorn"  thrown  down,  leaving  it  a 
mere  shell.  "So  great  a  piece  of  Cruilty  (I  believe)," 
exclaims  Deacon  Tudor,1  "on  so  good,  so  inocent  a  Gentle 
man  was  never  committed  since  the  Creation.  .  .  .  T'was 
supposed  that  several  Contrey  Fellows  &  saylors  was  con 
cerned  in  this  Mob,  as  there  was  but  few  of  them  known. 
There  was  a  number  of  Boys  from  14  to  sixteen  years  of  age, 
some  mere  Children  which  did  a  great  deal  of  damage  in 
breaking  the  Windows  &c.  But  what  is  surprising  there 
was  some  hundreds  of  people  looking  on  as  spectators,  I 
was  one,  that  had  they  known  each  others  minds  they  mite 
have  prevented  the  Mischief.  .  .  .  But  there  was  such  a 
Universal  obhorance  of  the  Stamp  Act  which  [had]  past  in 
England  &  was  soon  to  be  put  in  execution  in  America  [as 
to  be]  the  cause  of  the  Mob's  riseing  .  .  .  ;  thinking  [the 
Governor]  had  some  hand  in  the  Act." 

In  the  rough  humor  of  the  mob,  delicate  china  or  polished 
wainscoting  when  trampled  under  foot  and  dented  by 
blows  was  held  to  be  merely  "stamped"  according  to  law. 
Henshaw,  who  had  been  over  the  ruins  the  day  before,  tells 
us  in  his  letter,  they  did  not  spare  the  mahogany  tables, 
but  stamped  on  them  as  well  as  on  some  "very  handsome 
large  gilt  framed  Pictures,  the  Peices  of  which  lay  in  Piles 
in  the  Street."  The  beds  were  slit  open  and  the  feathers 
let  out;  worse  than  all,  historical  data  that  the  Governor 
had  been  thirty  years  in  collecting  was  swept  away  in  one 
night.  The  fruit  trees  were  broken  "down  to  the  ground," 
not  even  the  garden-house  was  spared.  Glancing  over  the 
contemporary  inventory 2  of  losses,  we  realize  how  over 
whelmed  the  family  must  have  been.  The  list  includes 
portraits  of  Hutchinson's  grandfather  and  grandmother; 
books,  such  as  a  Universal  History  costing  £5,  Harleian's 
Miscellany,  Cicero's  Works,  etc.;  mahogany,  walnut  and 
cane  furniture,  upholstered  with  striped  satin,  morocco 

1  Deacon  Tudor' s  Diary,  19.     Ed.  Tudor. 

2  Life  of  Thomas  Hutchinson,  Appendix  A.     Hosmer. 


36    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

leather,  and  crimson  damask;  a  large  Turkey  carpet,  delft 
bowls,  a  "rich  India  cabinet"  with  three  stands  of  wax 
work  in  glasses,  a  spinet,  microscope,  silver-hilted  swords, 
a  riding  whip,  ivory  fans,  tortoise  shell  and  carved  ivory 
toilet-brushes,  "very  neat  and  curious;"  a  topaz  neck 
lace,  green-stone  and  purple-stone  earrings,  a  crimson 
satin  hat,  sealskin  trunks,  a  french  grey  suit  "wrought 
with  gold,"  a  laced  crimson  cloth  waistcoat,  the  same 
of  crimson  velvet,  an  India  paduasoy  gown,  a  Red  Genoa 
damask  robe,  Mecklenburgh  lace,  caps  and  stomachers, 
silk  cloaks  "with  Ermine,"  £900  in  specie,  over  £100 
worth  of  "good  Western  Islands"  wine,  and  other  sorts, 
and  all  the  daily  fittings  of  a  house.  The  "Great  Room" 
and  "Hall,"  the  buffet,  the  Governor's  chamber,  Peggy's, 
Billy's,  and  Tommy's,  all  are  named.  No  one  escaped; 
the  housekeeper  and  maid,  Moses  Vose  the  coachman, 
and  Mark  the  negro,  even  a  poor  widow  who  had  been 
allowed  bed  and  board  several  years  in  the  family,  had 
their  rooms  plundered  with  the  rest. 

Early  the  next  day  before  any  were  stirring  Hutchinson 
returned  to  the  Mathers'  and  took  breakfast.  After  which, 
as  the  Assizes  were  being  held,  with  borrowed  clothes, 
without  wig  or  robe,  he  took  his  place  as  Chief  Justice  on 
the  bench,  "his  look  big  with  anxiety,"  says  Josiah  Quincy,1 
then  a  youth  of  twenty-one.  Making  apology  for  his 
clothing,  Hutchinson  went  on:  "Destitute  of  everything, 
-no  other  shirt;  no  other  garment  but  what  I  have  on; 
and  not  one  in  my  whole  family  in  a  better  situation  than 
myself  .  .  .  sensible  that  I  am  innocent,  ...  I  call  my 
Maker  to  witness,  that  I  never,  in  New  England  or  Old, 
in  Great  Britain  or  America,  neither  directly  or  indirectly, 
was  aiding,  assisting,  or  supporting  —  in  the  least  promoting 
or  encouraging  —  what  is  commonly  called  the  Stamp 
Act;  but,  on  the  contrary,  did  all  in  my  power,  and  strove 
as  much  as  in  me  lay,  to  prevent  it.  This  is  not  declared 
through  timidity;  for  I  have  nothing  to  fear.  They  can 

1  Life  of  Thomas  Hutchinson,  95.      Hosmer. 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  37 

only  take  away  my  life,  which  is  of  but  little  value  when 
deprived  of  all  its  comforts,  all  that  was  dear  to  me,  and 
nothing  surrounding  me  but  the  most  piercing  distress.  I 
hope  the  eyes  of  the  people  will  be  opened.  .  .  .  This  de 
stroying  all  peace  and  order  of  the  Community,  —  all  will 
feel  its  effects;  and  I  hope  all  will  see  how  easily  the 
people  may  be  deluded,  inflamed  and  carried  away  with 
madness  against  an  innocent  man.  I  pray  God  give  us 
better  hearts!" 

That  evening,  he  tells  us,1  "I  intended  [going]  with 
my  children  to  Milton,  but  meeting  two  or  three  small 
parties  of  the  ruffians,  who  I  suppose  had  concealed  them 
selves  in  the  country,  and  my  coachman  hearing  one  of 
them  say,  'There  he  is!'  My  daughters  were  terrified  and 
said  they  should  never  be  safe,  and  I  was  forced  to  shelter 
them  that  night  at  the  Castle."  Castle  Island  (Fort  Inde 
pendence),  where  Bernard  likewise  took  refuge,  is  about 
eight  acres  in  extent  and  lies  four  miles  out  in  the  harbor, 
southwest  of  the  town.  It  could  mount  one  hundred  and 
twenty  guns  and  had  been  known  as  Castle  William  since 
King  William  the  Third's  reign.  Writing  in  after-years  little 
Julia  Bernard,  then  a  child  of  six,  relates:2  "While  the  family 
was  in  residence  at  Castle  William  my  father  came  one  night 
in  his  barge  from  Boston  and  brought  Lieutenant-gover 
nor  Hutchinson,  his  sister  [i.e.,  wife's  sister,  Mrs.  Secretary 
Oliver,  presumably]  and  two  daughters,  whom  he  had 
rescued  from  the  fury  of  the  mob.  They  had  forced  the 
house;  the  family  fled  for  their  lives:  my  father's  barge  was 
in  waiting  for  him,  and  he  took  them  under  his  protection. 
The  house  was  stripped  of  everything  and  .  .  .  they  had 
nothing  but  what  they  had  on ;  I  can  remember  my  mother 
getting  them  out  clothes  and  ordering  beds  to  be  prepared. 
Terror  and  distress  sat  upon  their  countenances." 

The  same  day  a  town  meeting  had  been  held  and  a 

1  Life  of  Thomas  Hutchinson,  93.     Hosmer. 

2  The  Bernards  of  Abington  and  Nether  Winchendon,   II,    10.     Mrs.,   Napier 
Higgins.     London,  1903:  Longmans,  Green  &  Company. 


38     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

unanimous  vote  of  disapprobation  of  "the  bad  proceedings" 
placed  on  the  records.  Returning  to  Henshaw's  letter,  we 
find  all  the  first  of  the  night,  a  "great  number  of  Gentle0, 
were  in  the  Town-House  attended  with  the  Cadets,  3  cos. 
of  the  Militia,  &  2  cos.  of  Engine  Men  who  were  there  all 
night.  [Among  the  rest,  as  we  learn  from  another  l  source, 
was  the  Governor's  son  John,  a  youth  of  twenty,  as  a  volun 
teer.]  In  the  Beginning  of  the  Evening  there  was  a  Num 
ber  collected  and  opposed  the  Cadets,  knock'd  one  of  them 
down  with  a  stone.  Colo.  [Leonard]  Jarvis  order'd  them 
to  advance  and  level  their  Peices,  which  they  did  and 
soon  scatter'd  them,  they  broke  a  few  Squares  in  the 
Town  House  Windows  but  were  Peaceable  the  Remainder 
of  the  Night.  This  military  Watch  will  be  kept  every 
Night  for  sometime,  their  being  a  Number  of  Houses 
allotted  for  Ruin  by  the  Mob.  It  is  really  a  very  mel 
ancholy  Affair  but  I  hope  there  is  a  Stop  put  to  it."  He 
then  concludes  rather  ceremoniously,  "I  desire  you  to 
make  my  Duty  and  Love  acceptable  where  due,  and  am 
a  Well-wisher,  to  the  Colony  and  to  you  as  an  Individual. 
Joshua  Henshaw."2 

Parson  Gordon  3  of  Roxbury  tells  us  a  story  was  cir 
culated  by  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Mayhew's  enemies  that  the 
riot  could  be  traced  to  his  sermon  the  Sunday  last  past,  on 
Galatians  v.  12-13.  This  drew  from  Mayhew  the  following 
letter,  in  which,  after  condoling  with  the  Governor  "on  ac 
count  of  the  almost  unparalleled  outrages,  committed  at  his 
house  the  preceding  evening,"  he  continues:  "God  is  my  wit 
ness  that,  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  I  detest  these  pro 
ceedings;  and  that  I  am  sincerely  grieved  for  them,  and  have 
a  deep  sympathy  with  you,  and  your  distressed  family  on  this 
occasion.  I  did,  indeed,  express  myself  strongly,  in  favor  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  as  I  hope  I  shall  ever  continue  to 
do;  and  spoke  of  the  Stamp  Act  as  a  great  grievance,  like  to 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  13.      Higgins. 

2  N.  E.  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  July,  1878. 

3  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  I,  p.  178.     Gordon. 


STAMP  ACT  CAUSES  RIOT  39 

prove  detrimental,  in  a  high  degree,  both  to  the  Colonies  and 
the  Mother  Country;  and  I  have  heard  your  honor  speak  to 
the  same  purpose.  But,  as  my  text  led  me  to  do,  I  cautioned 
my  hearers,  very  particularly,  against  the  abuses  of  liberty; 
and  expressed  my  hopes  that  no  persons  amongst  ourselves 
had  encouraged  the  bringing  of  such  a  burden  on  their  Coun 
try,  notwithstanding  it  had  been  strongly  suspected.  In 
truth,  Sir,  I  had  rather  lose  my  hand,  than  be  an  encourager 
of  such  outrages  as  were  committed  last  night.  I  do  not 
think  my  regard  to  truth  was  ever  called  into  question  by 
those  that  knew  me;  and  therefore  hope  your  honor  will  be  so 
just  as  to  give  in  tire  credit  to  these  solemn  declarations." 

The  Governor  and  Council  at  once  proclaimed  a  reward l 
of  £300  L.M.  to  any  one  who  should  discover  the  leader 
or  leaders  in  the  affair,  and  £100  for  the  discovery  of  any 
of  the  actors;  but  beyond  a  little  suspicion  attaching  to 
Peter  Mclntosh,2  a  blacksmith,  and  a  youth  named  William 
More,3  nothing  was  revealed. 

1  History  of  the  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States,  91.     Botta. 

2  Tea  Leaves:  being  a  collection  of  letters  and  documents  relating  to  the  shipment 
of  Tea  to  the  American  Colonies  in  the  year  1773,  by  the  East  India  Company,  Intro 
duction,  cxxvii.     Francis  S.  Drake.     Boston,  1884:  A.  O.  Crane. 

a  Diary  and  Letters  of  Thomas  Hutchinson,  II,  228.  Peter  Orlando  Hutchin- 
son.  London,  1886:  Sampson  Low,  Marston,  Searle  &  Rivington. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY  FOR  REPEAL 

NO  sooner  were  the  names  of  the  stamp  distributors 
published  in  the  neighboring  Provinces  than  similar 
disturbances  followed.  August  27th  a  cart  with  three 
haltered  effigies  was  dragged  noisily  about  the  streets  of 
Newport l  until  at  length  it  came  to  a  standstill  before 
the  Town-house  on  the  Parade,  where  the  figures  were 
thrown  out,  hung  on  gallows,  and  afterwards  burned.  It 
was  well  understood  that  the  effigies  represented  the  stamp 
master  for  Rhode  Island,  Augustus  Johnson;  Dr.  Thomas 
Moffit  who  lived  on  Broad  Street;  and  an  able  advocate, 
Mr.  Martin  Howard  of  Spring  Street.  Next  day  Moffit 
and  Howard  were  driven  aboard  a  British  armed  vessel 
in  the  harbor,  their  houses  were  pillaged,  and  Johnson's 
would  have  suffered  a  like  fate  had  he  not  intimated  his 
readiness  to  resign.  The  Newport 1  sailors  were  especially 
incensed  at  this  time  because  a  sloop  seized  by  the  Cygnet 
had  been  condemned  before  the  Court  of  Admiralty  in 
Halifax.  Stricken  with  panic,  two  days  later  the  Collector, 
Comptroller,  and  Searcher  of  Customs,  in  their  turn  hurried 
aboard  the  man-of-war.  When  the  news  of  this  outbreak 
reached  England  the  Government  is  said  to  have  refused 
to  make  good  the  Rhode  Island  war  loan  until  Moffit  and 
Howard  were  amply  compensated. 

September  10th,  the  stamp  paper  reached  Boston, 
and  Hutchinson  wrote  to  ask  the  House  of  Representatives, 
then  in  session,  what  should  be  done.  They  replied, 
shrewdly,  it  was  "not  within  their  competency  to  advise," 

1  Historical  Address  of  the  City  of  Newport,  32-4.     Sheffield. 
40 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY       41 

and  for  the  moment  the  bales  were  lodged  in  the  Castle.1 
George  Meserve,2  the  New  Hampshire  stamp  commissioner, 
appears  to  have  arrived  by  the  same  ship.  He  may  have 
heard  from  the  pilot  which  way  the  wind  blew;  at  all  events, 
he  bent  gracefully  before  the  storm  and  on  landing  at  Long 
Wharf  made  the  following  declaration:  "As  I  am  the  un 
happy  man  who  personally  accepted  of  an  office  odious  to  my 
Country,  I  freely  resign  it,  and  will  never  act  in  that  capac 
ity."  After  which  he  was  greeted  with  a  round  of  cheers. 
Jared  Ingersoll,  the  stamp  distributor  for  Connecticut, 
did  not  escape  so  easily.  His  effigy  was  burnt  in  sundry 
places,  the  ceremony  being  preceded  in  Lebanon  3  by  a 
mock  trial  and  formal  sentence,  but  still  he  clung  to  his 
appointment.  As  the  time  drew  near  for  the  autumn 
session  of  the  Legislature,  mounted  men  watched  the  roads 
leading  to  Hartford.  September  19th,  Ingersoll  was 
surrounded  by  a  numerous  body  in  the  Great  Street  of 
Weathersfield  and  after  a  short  parley  compelled  to  resign, 
throw  up  his  hat,  and  huzza  three  times  for  Liberty  and 
Property.  The  company  was  formed  •  partly  of  militia 
officers,  in  scarlet  with  laced  hats,  partly  of  farmer  boys, 
riding  four  abreast,  and  preceded  by  four  trumpeters. 
Having  entered  Hartford  in  state,  they  drew  up  in  a  semi 
circle  about  the  tavern,  where  Ingersoll  was  obliged  to 
repeat  his  resignation.4  His  deputy,  a  Wyndham  man, 
was  likewise  compelled  to  resign.  This  would  have  ended 
the  matter  had  not  Ingersoll  published  a  letter  5  to  the 
effect  that  if  the  public  saw  fit  or  were  forced  to  change 
their  minds  he  hoped  he  might  resume  the  appointment. 
A  crowd  at  once  gathered  about  his  door  and  demanded  to 
know,  once  for  all,  if  he  meant  to  handle  the  stamps.  This 
was  more  than  Ingersoll  was  prepared  to  promise,  for  as 

1  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  96.     Botta. 

2  History  and  Antiquities  of  Boston  from  1630  to  1770,  702.     Samuel  Gardner 
Drake.     Boston,  1856:  Luther  Stevens. 

3  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  I,  184.     Gordon. 

4  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,    117.     Morse. 

6  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  92.     Botta. 


42    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

he  pointed  out,  they  might  be  delivered  into  his  keeping. 
With  growing  impatience  he  was  asked,  if  the  stamps  were 
put  in  his  hands,  would  he  give  them  up  or  must  they  pull 
his  house  about  his  ears.  Ingersoll,  in  this  strait,  promised 
if  the  stamps  were  not  shipped  directly  back  to  England, 
his  doors  should  be  left  open  and  they  could  take  what 
steps  they  pleased.  This  same  stirring  September  an  effigy 
swung  all  day  at  the  foot  of  King  (Federal)  Street  in 
Newburyport  and  at  night  by  the  parting  of  the  rope  was 
plunged  into  the  flames  of  ten  blazing  tar  barrels.  Back 
and  forth  along  the  by-ways  of  the  little  town,  meanwhile, 
roamed  parties  of  lads  who  challenged  all  wayfarers  with 
the  words,  "Stamp,  or  no  stamp?"  One  mystified  stranger 
is  said  to  have  saved  his  pate  by  the  readiness  with  which 
he  exclaimed,  "I  am  as  you  are."  l 

About  four,  one  afternoon  in  October,  the  expected  ship 
with  the  stamps  for  Pennsylvania  2  was  sighted  rounding 
Gloucester  Point.  At  once  the  Philadelphia  shipping  ran 
up  their  colors  half-mast  high,  muffled  bells  spread  the 
news,  and  thousands  flocked  about  the  State  House.  The 
stamp  master,  John  Hughes,  had  not  as  yet  resigned;  by 
the  advice  of  William  Allen,  son  of  the  president  of  the 
Court  of  Justice,  a  deputation  now  waited  upon  him,  and, 
after  a  momentary  struggle,  he  too  threw  up  his  com 
mission.  The  Old  North  State  was  notably  firm  at  this 
time.  When  Governor  Try  on  asked  John  Ashe,  Speaker 
of  the  Legislature,  what  resistance  might  be  expected  from 
the  Province  concerning  the  Stamp  Act,  he  had  replied3 
the  measure  would  be  "resisted  to  blood  and  death." 
Accordingly,  by  a  policy  of  adjournment,  the  House  was 
prevented  from  representation  at  the  Congress  in  New 
York,  although  individual  members  passed  resolutions  of 
like  tenor.  November  16th,  William  Houston,  stamp 

1  History  of  Newbury,  231.    Joshua  Coffin.     Boston,  1845:  Samuel  G.  Drake. 

2  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  95.     Botta. 

3  The  Stamp  Act  on  Cape  Fear.     Colonel  Alfred  Moore  Waddell.     Raleigh, 
N.  C.,  1901:  Capital  Printing  Company.  ' 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY  43 

master  for  North  Carolina,  was  forced  to  resign  his  office  at 
the  Court-house  in  Wilmington  in  the  presence  of  Mayor 
Moses  John  De  Rosset  and  the  Aldermen.  November  28th, 
the  Diligence,  Captain  Phipps,  twenty  guns,  and  the  Viper, 
Captain  Lobb,  bearing  the  stamps,  arrived  in  the  Cape 
Fear  River  and  lay  off  Brunswick  just  below  the  city  of 
Wilmington,  but  were  prevented  from  landing  them  owing 
to  an  armed  force  led  by  Col.  Hugh  Waddell  and  Col.  John 
Ashe.  In  February,  1766,  the  Viper  seized  two  vessels 
arriving  without  stamped  clearance  papers;  but  again,  by 
a  spirited  remonstrance  and  timely  show  of  force,  H.  M. 
Comptroller,  Mr.  Pennington,  and  his  subordinates,  the 
county  clerks,  bethought  them  to  take  oath  that  no  stamped 
papers  would  be  issued,  and  the  crisis  was  past. 

It  is  Bernard's  due  to  state  that  in  his  official  correspond 
ence,  while  recognizing  the  difficulties  of  the  situation 
through  the  rapid  growth  of  the  Empire,  and  recommending  l 
the  time  as  perhaps  come  for  a  maturer  form  of  government 
with  an  independent  Civil  list,  he  strongly  advised  that  the 
taxes  be  raised  as  heretofore  and  reminded  the  home  govern 
ment  that  Massachusetts,  "as  beforehand  l  as  any,"  raised 
a  tax  of  £37,500  each  year  to  sink  the  debt  of  the  last  war 
and  must  continue  so  to  do  for  four  years  to  come.  Finally 
he  expresses  a  hope  that  without  compromising  the  dignity 
of  Parliament,  the  act  may  be  set  aside;  for1  "at  present 
by  artifice,  prejudice  and  passion,  good  men  and  bad  men 
are  unaccountably  confounded  together;  a  little  time  and 
management  will  separate  them  and  bring  them  under 
their  proper  arrangement."  At  the  same  time  he  told  the 
House  firmly,  as  to  the  act,  he  had  not  felt  it  his  business 
to  study  its  nature;  it  was  enough  that  it  was  an  act  of  the 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain  and  as  such  to  be  obeyed  by 
the  subjects  of  Great  Britain.  The  Legislature,  in  a  reply 
thought  to  have  been  drafted  by  Sam  Adams,  flatly  refused 
to  use  the  stamps;  whereupon  Bernard  2  declared  he  "hap- 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  I,  340,  338;  II,  22,  23.     Higgins. 

2  Ibid.  II,  19. 


44    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

pened"to  be  Governor  when  a  distasteful  Act  was  made; 
he  did  not  make  it,  and  could  not  avert  it;  they  should  then 
wreak  their  resentment  wholly  on  the  office,  not  on  his 
person,  adding:1  "If  I  could  have  dispensed  with  my  duty 
perhaps  I  might  have  pleased  you;  but  then  I  must  have  con 
demned  myself,  and  been  condemned  by  my  Royal  Master.'* 
^  The  time  set  for  the  holding  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress, 
the  first  Tuesday  in  October,  had  now  arrived;  and  members 
from  nine  Colonies2  gathered  at  City  Hall  in  Wall  Street 
and  organized,  Timothy  Ruggles,  of  Massachusetts,  being 
chosen  president,  by  a  majority  of  one,  over  James  Otis. 

The  Congress  remained  sitting  two  weeks  whilst  John 
Cruger  of  New  York  drew  up  a  Declaration  of  Rights; 
Judge  Robert  R.  Livingston,  father  of  the  Chancellor,  a 
petition  to  the  King,  and  James  Otis  a  memorial  to  both 
Houses  of  Parliament.  The  general  ground  taken  was 
that  no  taxation  was  legal  without  representation  and  that 
the  distance  from  England  put  representation  out  of  the 
question.  The  taxes  must,  therefore,  be  raised,  as  of  old, 
through  appropriations  by  the  several  Assemblies.  Ruggles, 
a  singularly  inflexible  man,  but  supposed  to  be  honest  in 
his  opinions,  when  the  members  were  about  to  sign  moved 
the  petitions  should  be  referred  back  to  the  Assemblies  for 
action  at  a  later  date.  Thomas  McKean,  a  delegate  from 
Delaware,  rose  and  with  deep  feeling  requested  him  to 
assign  his  reasons.  Ruggles  brusquely  replied  he  was  not 
bound  in  duty  to  state  his  reasons.  McKean  pressed  for  an 
explanation  and  Mr.  Ruggles,  put  in  a  corner,  said  it  "went 
against  his  conscience."  "Your  conscience!"  exclaimed 
McKean,  "conscience!"  and  pushed  the  attack  so  warmly, 
Ruggles  then  and  there  challenged  him  to  fight,  an  offer 
instantly  accepted.  By  the  next  day,  however,  his  temper 
had  cooled  and  he  slunk  off  home  without  affording  McKean 
a  meeting;  to  receive  the  reprimand  of  his  constituents. 

Robert  Ogden,  Speaker  of  the  New  Jersey  Assembly, 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  19.     Higgins. 

2  Our  Country,  I,  622-3.     Lossing. 


ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON* 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY  45 

the  only  other  member  who  persisted  in  withholding  his 
signature,  was  burnt  in  effigy  and  removed  from  the 
speakership.1 

As  for  the  petition  itself,  it  was  in  due  course  presented 
by  the  Colonial  Agent  for  Massachusetts,  Dennis  De  Berdt, 
a  British  merchant  of  Flemish  descent,  now  seventy  years 
of  age,  who  writes:2  "I  think  myself  very  happy  that  I 
introduced  the  Congress  Petition  before  the  House  with 
out  offending  the  Ministry,  notwithstanding  the  Congress 
itself  was  deemed  illegal,  which  had  its  full  weight  by  Mr. 
Pitt's  taking  it  up,  and  declared  that  the  greatest  defect 
he  saw  in  it  was  that  one  of  the  petitioners'  names  was 
*  Oliver/"  i.e.,  Oliver  Partridge,  a  Massachusetts  delegate. 
A  glimpse  at  young  John  Hancock's  business  correspondence 
shows  what  an  anxious  period  this  was  for  the  merchants. 

Writing  to  his  London  agents,  Barnards  &  Harrison, 
October  14th,  he  says:3 

"The  Ruin  of  this  people  must  be  the  Consequence  of 
this  Act's  Taking  place.  Our  Trade  here  will  entirely 
Stagnate,  for  it  is  the  united  Resolution  &  Determination 
of  the  people  here  not  to  Carry  on  Business  under  a  Stamp, 
we  shall  be  in  the  utmost  Confusion  here  after  the  1st. 
Novr.  &  nothing  but  the  Repeal  of  the  act  can  retrieve 
our  Trade  again.  Persons  who  have  Vessels  here  may  now 
Clear  them  before  the  1st.  Novr.  but  those  that  may  arrive 
after,  must  lay  up  till  the  Resolutions  of  Parliamt.  be  known, 
if  not  Repealed  you  may  bid  Adieu  to  Remittances  for  the 
past  Goods,  and  Trade  in  future,  your  Debts  cannot  be 
Recover'd  here  for  we  shall  have  no  Courts  of  Justice  after 
the  1st.  Novr.  &  I  now  Tell  you,  &  you  will  find  it  come  to 
pass  that  the  people  of  this  Country  will  never  Suffer  them 
selves  to  be  made  slaves  of  by  a  Submission  to  that  D — d 
act.  ...  I  have  come  to  a  Serious  Resolution  not  to  send 

1  Lives  of  the  Signers  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  325-6.      Goodrich. 

2  Boston  Evening  Transcript,  July  17,  1902. 

3  John    Hancock  His  Book,   86-8.     Abram  English  Brown.     Boston,   1898: 
Lee  and  Shepard. 


46   BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

one  Ship  more  to  Sea  nor  to  have  any  kind  of  Connection 
in  Business  under  a  Stamp;  ...  &  I  am  Determin'd  as 
soon  as  I  know  that  they  are  Resolv'd  to  insist  on  this  Act 
to  Sell  my  Stock  in  Trade  &  Shut  up  my  Warehouse  Doors. 
Thus  much  I  told  our  Govr.  the  other  day.  .  .  .  We  are 
a  people  worth  a  saveing  ...  I  now  tell  you  the  whole 
Continent  is  so  Rous'd  that  they  will  never  suffer  any  one 
to  Distribute  the  Stamps,  —  a  Thousand  Guineas,  nay  a 
much  Larger  Sum,  would  be  no  Temptation  to  me  to  be 
the  first  that  should  apply  for  a  Stamp."  After  urging 
a  repeal  he  adds  a  "P.S.  This  Letter  I  propose  to  remain 
in  my  Letter  Book  as  a  Standing  monument  to  posterity 
&  my  children  in  particular,  that  I  by  no  means  consented 
to  a  Submission  to  this  Cruel  Act,  &  that  my  best  Repre 
sentations  were  not  wanting  in  the  matter." 
A  week  later  he  wrote  to  the  same  firm: l 
"Gentlemen:  We  are  now  groaning  under  a  Load  of  Debts 
the  consequence  of  our  great  exertions  in  the  late  Warr,  .  .  . 
and  to  comfort  us  we  must  have  the  heavy  Burthen  of  a 
Stamp  Act  to  grapple  with;  we  are  amazingly  tax'd  here.  .  . 
What  would  a  Merchant  in  London  think  of  paying  £400 
stlg.  ann.  which  my  late  uncle  paid  to  this  Province  & 
county;  his  Taxes  from  the  year  1757-63  amotd  to  £2600 
stg,  and  I  now  pay  yearly  to  this  Province  and  county 
near  £300  sterlg.,  besides  all  duties,  Imposts,  Ministers  & 
many  other  which  are  additional  Taxes,  and  pray  do 
you  think  we  ought  to  be  further  Taxed?  .  .  .  No,  Gentle 
men,  there  is  not  cash  enough  here  to  support  it,  and  pray 
where  are  we  when  our  Cash  is  gone  or  indeed  where  will 
you  obtain  your  remittances,  .  .  .  Next  week  the  first  of 
November  comes,  .  .  .  Grievous  and  inhuman  act  ...  I 
never  will  carry  on  Business  under  such  great  disadvantages 
&  Burthen.  ...  I  have  a  Right  to  the  Libertys  &  Privi 
leges  of  the  English  Constitution,  &  I  as  an  Englishman 
will  enjoy  them.  .  .  .  Do  exert  yourselves  for  us.  It  is 
your  own  Interest  as  much  as  ours." 

1  John  Hancock  His  Book,  89-90.     Brown. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY  47 

Driven  partly  by  the  scarcity  of  specie,  partly  by  the 
desire  to  force  their  cause  upon  the  notice  of  the  British 
people,  the  day  before  the  act  took  effect  some  two  hundred 
merchants  met  at  Burns's  Coffee  House  in  New  York  and 
agreed  not  to  import  certain  English  goods  after  January  1st 
without  the  act  was  repealed.  November  1st  was  a  Friday, 
a  "black  Friday."  Copies  of  the  act,  surmounted  with  a 
death's  head  and  the  motto  "The  Folly  of  England  and 
the  ruin  of  America,"  were  hawked  about  the  streets. 
The  bells  were  tolled  and  the  shops  closely  shuttered  as 
a  sign  that  Liberty  was  dead.  Flags  drooped  at  half  mast 
from  the  idle  shipping  along  the  water  fronts,  and  notices  l 
were  posted  here  and  there,  "Let  him  that  shall  first  dis 
tribute  or  employ  stamp  paper,  look  well  to  his  house,  his 
person  and  his  furniture."  Vox  POPULI. 

In  Boston  two  immense  effigies  dangled  from  the  Liberty 
Tree;  one  of  Lord  George  Grenville,  the  chief  promoter  of 
the  act,  the  other  of  John  Husk,  with  the  following  paper  2 
attached  to  his  breast: 

Question.    What,  Brother  Huske?  Why  this  is  bad! 

Answer.     Ah,  indeed!   but  I'm  a  wicked  lad; 

My  mother  always  thought  me  wild; 

"The  gallows  is  thy  portion,  child," 

She  often  said;  behold,  'tis  true, 

And  now  the  dog  must  have  his  due; 

For  idle  gewgaws,  wretched  pelf, 

I  sold  my  country,  d — d  myself; 

And  for  my  great,  unequalled  crime, 

The  d — 1  takes  H — e  before  his  time. 

But  if  some  brethren  I  could  name, 

Who  shared  the  crime  should  share  the  shame, 

This  glorious  tree,  though  big  and  tall, 

Indeed  would  never  hold  'em  all. 

About  three  in  the  afternoon   they   were  cut   down,   laid 
in  a  cart,  trundled  about,  and  hung  from  the  gallows  on  the 

1  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  102,  94,  96,  97.     Botta. 

2  Our  Country,  I,  610.     Lossing. 


48    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Neck,  near  Dover  Street.  Here  they  were  once  more  cut 
down  and  rent  limb  from  limb.  At  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  amid  the  tolling  of  bells  and  the  booming 
of  minute  guns,  the  people  bore  to  an  open  grave  a  coffin 
inscribed,  LIBERTY  aged  CXLV;  muffled  drums  sounded 
as  the  procession  passed  slowly  along.  At  the  grave  an 
oration  on  Liberty  was  closely  followed,  and  just  as  the 
coffin  was  about  to  be  lowered,  someone  cried,  "There 
are  signs  of  Life,"  upon  which  it  was  drawn  up  and  re 
labelled,  "Liberty  Revived,"  the  people  cheering  themselves 
hoarse.1 

One  of  Revere's  earliest  caricatures  bears  reference 
to  this  date.  The  odious  Stamp  Act  is  represented 
by  a  Dragon  confronted  by  Boston  with  a  drawn  sword. 
In  the  background  Husk  is  seen  hanging  from  the 
Liberty  Tree.  The  accompanying  lines  appear  in  expla 
nation  : 


America!  see  thy  free  born  sons  advance 

And  at  thy  Tyrant  point  the  threat'ng  Lance! 

Who  with  grim  Horror  opes  his  Hell-like  Jaws, 

And  MAGNA  CHARTA  grasps  between  his  Claws. 

Lo  BOSTON  brave !  unstain'd  by  Placemen's  Bribe 

"Attack  the  Monster  and  his  venal  Tribe." 

See  loyal  Hampden  to  his  Country  true, 

Present  his  Weapon  to  the  odious  Crew; 

See  'fore  him  prostrate  treacherous  PYM  doth  fall 

And  A-Sejanus  loud  for  Mercy  call! 

Whilst  brave  RHODE  ISLAND,  &  NEW  YORK  support, 

HAMPDEN  and  FREEDOM,  in  their  brave  Effort: 

Front  to  VIRGINIA,  bold  NEW  HAMPSHIRE  stands 

All  firmly  sworn  to  shake  off  slavish  Bands 

And  each  United  Province  faithful  joins 

Against  the  Monster  and  his  curst  designs, 

Mounted  aloft  perfidious  H — K  you  see, 

Scorned  by  his  Country,  fits  the  Rope  &  Tree; 

This  be  the  real  Fate!  a  fittest  Place 

For  Freedom's  Foes  a  selfish  scornful  Race ! 

1  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  265.     Spencer. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY       49 

"Above  behold  where  Spite  &  Envy  squirt 
Their  VENOM  on  the  Heads  they  cannot  hurt; 
But  lo  MINERVA  with  her  Spear  and  Shield" 
Appears  with  Hopes  to  make  the  Harpies  yield.1 

The  stamps  for  New  York  reached  that  city  during  the 
sitting  of  Congress  and  the  stamp  master,  James  McEvers, 
implored  they  might  be  lodged  in  Fort  George  at  the  foot 
of  Broadway.  This  did  not  suit  the  populace  and  the 
coffee  houses  buzzed  with  plans  for  getting  the  papers  into 
the  keeping  of  the  city.  Finally 2  Captain  Isaac  Sears, 
an  ex-privateersman,  told  some  bold  fellows  to  follow 
him,  and  waited  upon  the  acting-Governor,  Cadwallader 
Colden,  an  old  Scotchman  of  eighty,  and  asked  him  to 
turn  the  papers  over.  In  the  absence  of  the  Governor, 
Sir  Henry  Moore,  Colden  replied,  he  must  be  excused  from 
action. 

Hearing  this,  a  mob  broke  into  Colden's  stable,  dragged 
out  his  coach,  and  seated  a  dummy  inside  with  a  bill 
of  lading  in  its  right  hand  and  a  demon  in  its  left.  The 
whole  was  then  paraded  before  the  counterscarp  of  the 
fort.  In  his  indignation,  it  is  said,  Colden3  would  have 
fired  into  the  crowd,  but  was  restrained  by  Gage.  A  bon 
fire  had  been  prepared  on  the  Bowling  Green,  and  coach 
and  all  were  speedily  consumed.  The  mob  then  marched 
to  the  corner  of  the  present  Worth  Street  and  West  Broad 
way  and  demolished  the  house  occupied  by  Major  James, 
who  had  threatened  to  cram  the  stamps  down  the  peoples' 
throats  with  his  sword  if  necessary,  and  had  boasted  that 
with  four  and  twenty  more  he  could  drive  all  the  ^pns  of 
Liberty  out  of  town  "for  a  pack  of  rascals."  3  But  dis 
cretion  appears  ^o  have  been  accounted  the  better  part  of 
Valor  and  next  day  the  stamps  were  surrendered.  To 
avoid  excesses  on  the  part  of  the  rabble  the  New  York 

1  Life   of   Colonel    Paul    Revere,    I,    31-2.     Elbridge   Henry    Goss.     Boston, 
1891:  Joseph  George  Cupples. 

2  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  97-8.     Botta. 

8  Popular  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Ill,  344-5.      Bryant  and  Gay. 


50    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

leaders  now  called  a  meeting  in  the  Fields  and  proposed 
carrying  on  a  correspondence  with  the  other  Provinces, 
!  Isaac  Sears  and  four  others  1  accepting  the  dangerous  post. 
This  led  to  the  definite  organization  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty, 
men  pledged  to  march  at  their  own  cost,  at  once,  wherever 
needed  because  of  peril  to  opposers  of  the  Stamp  Act, 
pledged  to  watch  the  promoters  of  the  act,  exposing  them 
to  notice  and  annoying  them  by  all  lawful  means,  and  lastly, 
pledged  to  defend  the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  protect  the 
judges  and  their  subordinates  against  all  fines  incurred  by 
conducting  the  courts  in  defiance  of  the  act.1  Most  of 
the  judges  in  Massachusetts  Colony  issued  writs,  as  here 
tofore,  without  stamps.  But  Hutchinson,  as  chief  justice 
and  probate  judge  of  Suffolk  County,  would  not  hold  court 
without  them.  Hence  no  wills  were  proved,  no  adminis 
tration  granted,  no  deeds  or  bonds  executed,  while  he  had 
control. 

December  18th,2  John  Adams,  in  commenting  on  the 
situation,  writes:  "The  stamps  are  in  the  castle.  Mr. 
Oliver  has  no  commission.  The  Governor  has  no  authority 
to  distribute  or  even  to  unpack  the  bales;  the  Act  has  never 
been  proclaimed  nor  read  in  the  Province;  yet  the  probate 
office  is  shut,  the  custom-house  is  shut,  the  courts  of  justice 
are  shut,  and  all  business  seems  at  a  stand.  Yesterday 
and  the  day  before,  the  two  last  days  of  service  for  January 
Term,  only  one  man  asked  me  for  a  writ,  and  he  was  soon 
determined  to  waive  his  request.  I  have  not  drawn  a  writ 
since  the  first  of  November.  How  long  are  we  to  remain 
in  this  languid  condition,  this  passive  obedience  to  the  Stamp 
Act,  is  not  certain.  But  such  a  pause  cannot  be  lasting. 
Debtors  grow  insolent;  creditors  grow  angry;  and  it  is  to  be 
expected  that  the  public  offices  will  very  soon  be  forced 
open,  unless  such  favorable  accounts  should  be  received 
from  England  as  to  draw  away  the  fears  of  the  great,  or 

1  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  99.     Botta. 

2  Works  of  John  Adams,  II,   155.     Charles  Francis  Adams.     Boston,  1850: 
Charles  C.  Little  and  James  Brown. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY       51 

unless  a  greater  dread  of  the  multitude  should  drive  away 
the  fear  of  censure  from  Great  Britain." 

At  length,  when  the  condition  became  unendur 
able,  it  was  met  by  Hutchinson's  resignation;  Governor 
Bernard  appointing  in  his  room  his  brother,  Foster 
Hutchinson,1  who  at  once  conformed  with  the  Patriots' 
wishes. 

In  some  of  the  Colonies,  owing  to  the  resignation  of  the 
stamp  masters,  the  royal  governors  were  forced  2  to  grant 
letters  of  dispensation  to  those  requesting  them,  and  espe 
cially  for  ships  about  to  sail.  Writing  to  a  London  cor 
respondent,  December  21,  1765,  Hancock  3  explains  that 
the  Boston  packet  with  oil,  John  Marshall,  commander, 
had  been  cleared,  "the  officers  certifying  that  no  stamps 
are  to  be  had,  which  is  actually  the  case.  ...  I  apprehend 
there  will  be  no  risque  on  your  side,  here.  I  am  under  no 
apprehensions.  Should  there  be  any  Difficulty  in  London 
as  to  Marshalls  clearance,  You  will  please  to  represent 
the  circumstances  that  no  stamps  could  be  obtained  and 
we  cannot  obtain  a  more  Regular  Clearance.  In  which 
case  I  think  I  am  to  be  justified,  &  am  not  liable  to  a 
seizure,  or  even  run  any  risque  at  all,  as  I  have  taken 
the  Step  of  the  Law,  £  made  application  for  clearance, 
&  can  get  no  other.  I  refer  the  matter  to  you,  if  any 
Difficulty  You  will  please  to  make  proper  Representa 
tions,  &  I  have  no  doubt  we  shall  be  justified.  The 
Custom  Houses  to  the  Southward  are  open  &  vessels 
clear  as  usual,  the  officers  certifying  that  no  stamps  are 
to  be  had." 

December  5th,  the  Speedwell,  Captain  Fanshaw,  brought 
the  stamps  to  Fort  Halifax,  Georgia.  The  president  of 
his  Majesty's  Council  here,  James  Habersham,  had  ob 
served  that  through  the  Stamp  Act's  provisions  more  coin 
would  be  called  for  than  the  Province  had  in  circulation. 

1  Life  of  Hutchinson,  149.     Hosmer. 

2  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  105.    Botta. 

3  John  Hancock  His  Book,  99.     Brown. 


52    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

A  determined  spirit  of  opposition  was  aroused  and  the  fol 
lowing  2d  of  January,  1766,  Governor  Wright  was  warned 
that  two  hundred  Liberty  boysjDurposed  seizing  the  stamps. 
He  accordingly  ordered  them  to  be  loaded  on  a  cart  and 
removed  under  arms  to  the  guard  house.  At  the  same 
time  a  guard  of  forty  men  was  set  about  his  own  house. 
The  following  day  Mr.  Agnus,  the  stamp  distributor, 
arrived,  but  he  felt  his  position  so  insecure  he  did  not  remain 
above  a  fortnight,  leaving  for  Savannah.  Toward  the  end  of 
January  the  stamps  were  again  removed,  this  time  to  Fort 
George  on  an  island,  under  guard.  Finally,  February  3d, 
they  were  returned  to  the  keeping  of  the  man-o'-war 
Speedwell.  This  occasioned  so  much  vexation  the  Governor 
was  burnt  in  effigy  next  day,  holding  Secretary  Conway's 
circular  of  October  24th,  1765,  in  his  hand;  and  an  open 
collision  between  the  rangers  and  populace  was  narrowly 
averted.  In  the  end  the  sixty  or  seventy  vessels  in  port 
were  allowed  to  sail  using  stamps,  but  all  judicial  business 
was  suspended.1 

The  accompanying  letter  from  Lady  Sarah  (Lennox) 
Bunbury  to  Lady  Susan  O'Brien  in  America  throws  a 
little  side  light  on  these  demonstrations. 

Do  you  know  that  I  feel  quite  frightened  about  these  re 
bellions  at  New  York.  .  .  I  don't  to  this  minute  understand 
anything  about  the  cause  of  it  all,  I  am  so  far  from  a  polli- 
tician,  that  I  never  should  have  ask'd  if  you  had  not  been 
there,  &  when  I  did,  I  was  not  the  wiser  for  it.  ...  February 
5,  I  was  in  hopes  Sr.  Charles  would  have  made  me  a  visit, 
but  your  nasty  American  business  has  kept  him  in  town 
till  now,  .  .  I  am  very  much  troubled,  my  love,  to  find 
that  the  right  of  taxing  America  is  thought  so  certain  that 
it  was  not  even  put  to  the  vote,  Mr.  Pitt,  Col.  Barre,  & 
a  few  others  only  being  against  it;  &  the  House  of  Lords 
was  divided  125  against  5,  viz.,  Lds.  Campden,  Shelburne, 

1  History  of  Georgia,  II,  46-7.  Rev.  William  Bacon  Stevens.  Philadel 
phia,  1859:  E.  H.  Butler  &  Company. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY  53 

Cornwallis,  Powlet,  &  Torrington,  which  I  supose  deter 
mines  the  Act  being  put  in  execution,  &  of  course  will  make  a 
riot.  ...  I  have  got  an  Angora  cat.  .  .  I  am  distractedly 
fond  of  her  etc.  etc.1 


The  temper  of  Massachusetts  continued  high  despite 
the  stagnation  in  business.  The  population  of  Boston  at 
this  time  was  about2  fifteen  thousand,  and  there  were  only 
some  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  souls  in  the  whole 
Province;3  a  small  muster  to  defy  Old  England,  but  they 
were  bred  of  her  bone  and  proud  of  their  Pilgrim  traditions. 
Ben  Franklin  voiced  a  general  sentiment  when  he  said:4 
"I  will  freely  spend  nineteen  shillings  in  the  pound  to 
defend  my  right  of  giving  or  refusing  the  other  shilling; 
and  after  all,  if  I  cannot  defend  that  right,  I  can  retire 
cheerfully  into  the  boundless  woods  of  America,  which  are 
sure  to  afford  freedom  and  subsistence  to  any  man  who 
can  bait  a  hook  or  pull  a  trigger." 

A  hardy  spirit  of  contentment  and  self-reliance  spread 
over  the  land.  Men  and  women  everywhere  banded 
together  to  render  the  act  as  ineffectual  as  possible.  Non 
importation  associations  spread  from  city  to  city.  Mutton 
ceased  to  be  an  article  of  food5  that  there  might  be  more 
wool  for  homespun.  Daughters  of  Liberty  were  not  behind 
the  Sons,  and  the  whir  of  the  wheel  and  the  thud  of  the 
loom  were  heard  on  all  sides.  Within  eighteen  months, 
according  to  a  Newport  paper,  the  family  of  James  Nixon  6 
spun  no  less  than  four  hundred  and  eighty-seven  yards  of 
cloth  and  knit  thirty-six  pairs  of  hose.  On  one  occasion, 


1  Life  and  Letters  of  Lady  Sarah  Lennox,  I,  184-87,  edited  by  the  Countess 
of  Ilchester  and  Lord  Stavordale.     London,  1901 :  John  Murray. 

2  Our  Country,  I,  656.     Lossing. 

3  Tudor's  Diary,  24.     Tudor. 

4  Hints  for  a  Reply  to  the  Protest   of  the   Lords   against   the   Repeal   of  the 
Stamp   Act.     Quoted  by  Rev.  H.  Hewitt.      The  New  England  Magazine,  April, 
1886. 

5  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  104.     Botta. 

6  Our  Country,  I,  625.     Lossing. 


54    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

the  Mercury1  reports,  twenty  Daughters  of  Liberty  held  a 
spinning  bee  at  Bristol  which  continued  from  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  after  sunrise  until  sunset,  a  half  hour's  rest  only 
allowed  at  noon,  when  they  made  merry  with  the  toasts 
"Wheels  and  Flax  "  and  "A  fig  for  the  Stamp  Act  and  its 
abettors."  At  the  day's  end  they  had  seventy-four  skeins, 
fifteen  knots  to  a  skein,  of  good  linen  yarn  to  show  for  their 
toil.  The  account  closes:  "A  resolve  was  proposed  among 
the  ladies;  that  none  would  admit  the  addresses  of  any 
Person  that  favored  the  Stamp  Act,  but  dismissed,  sup 
posing  there  is  no  such  person  among  us.  I  flatter  myself 
there  is  such  a  spirit  of  generosity  prevailing  among  the 
true  Sons  of  Liberty  that  none  of  the  twenty  ladies  will 
ever  have  occasion  to  lament  with  Japhthali's  daughter. 
Philo  Patria." 

To  keep  the  interest  alive,  toward  the  close  of  winter 
several  of  the  Massachusetts  towns  agreed  upon  a  day  for 
the  simultaneous  burning  of  stamp  papers  with  every 
expression  of  indignity.  Accordingly,  February  20th,  in 
Boston  2  effigies  of  Grenville  and  Bute  in  full  court  dress 
were  paraded  about  the  streets  in  a  cart  and  finally  burnt 
at  the  gallows-foot,  together  with  the  detested  stamps; 
after  which  the  Sons  of  Liberty  returned  to  headquarters 
"and  coolly  drarrk~  his  Ma j^sty^s  "health."  A  few  days 
later,  Captain  Elisha  Thatcher  arrived  from  Jamaica. 
Supposing  him  to  have  a  quantity  of  stamped  clearances 
aboard,  one  of  the  Sons  was  deputed  to  ask  for  these  "marks 
of  Creole  slavery"  with  the  intent  of  burning  them  in  King 
Street,  at  1  P.M.  No  other  clearance  than  that  of  Thatcher's 
own"  vessel  was  found.  This  was  fixed  to  a  pole  and  set  in 
the  stocks,  and  finally  burnt  by  the  executioner,  who  pro 
claimed  solemnly, "  Behold !  the  smoke  ascends  to  Heaven,  to 
Witness  between  the  Isle  of  Britain  and  an  injured  people." 2 

1  American  Monthly  Magazine,  notice  dated  April  10,  1766,  contributed  by 
Alice  Morse  Earle,  from  the  Newport  Mercury  of  the  17th  April,  1766.     Washing 
ton,  D.C.     November,  1896.     Published  by  the  National  Society  D.  A.  R. 

2  History  of  Boston,  266.     Snow. 


DUKE  OF  BEDFORD 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY       55 

At  about  this  time  we  learn  through  Hutchinson  of  a 
high-handed  evasion  of  customs.  During  March  he  writes: 
"Upon  a  seizure  of  molasses  and  sugar  at  Newbury,  half  a 
dozen  boats,  well-manned,  went  after  the  officer,  took  the 
goods  from  him,  and  the  boat  he  was  in,  and  left  him  all 
night  upon  the  beach.  A  proclamation,  with  promise  of 
reward  on  discovery,  is  nothing  more  than  the  show  of 
authority:  no  man  will  venture  a  discovery,  and  I  imagine 
a  few  more  such  instances  will  make  it  settled  law,  that  no 
act  but  those  of  our  own  Legislature  can  bind  us."  l  The 
llth,  John  Adams  in  his  diary  2  refers  to  the  chief  justice 
as  evading  attendance  at  the  Supreme  Court  on  the  pre 
tence  of  a  journey  he  must  take;  adjourning  it  meanwhile 
for  several  weeks.  "So,"  comments  Adams,  "Hutchinson 
is  to  trim,  and  shift,  and  luff  up,  and  bear  away,  and 
elude  the  blame  of  the  Ministry  and  the  people." 
March  29th,  on  coming  together  and  no  cause  being 
ready  for  the  jury,  Hutchinson  suggested  adjourning  to 
the  first  week  in  June,  adding  uneasily:  "He  wanted 
to  be  at  home;  he  was  never  so  easy  as  when  he  was 
there;  he  did  not  love  to  spend  his  time  idly;  if  there 
was  business  to  be  done,  he  was  for  being  where  he  could 
be  employed."  2 

Although  the  Whigs  were  in  power,  the  change  of  govern 
ment  brought  no  immediate  relief  to  the  Colonists,  since 
all  action  was  deferred  until  the  sitting  of  Parliament. 
Meanwhile  the  non-importation  agreement  began  to  make 
itself  felt  and  merchants  complained  that  their  warehouses 
were  full  of  perishable  goods  for  which  they  had  no  market. 
During  May  three  or  four  thousand  unemployed  weavers 
and  glove-makers  paraded  the  streets  of  London  with 
black  banners,  and  then  in  sullen  ranks  stood  before  the 
royal  palace  and  the  Parliament  Houses; 3  ending  by  an 
attempt  on  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  house  in  Bloomsbury, 

1  Life  of  Hutchinson,  104.     Hosmer. 

2  Diary,  II,  189,  193.     C.  F.  Adams. 

3  Annals  of  the  American  Revolution,  130.     Morse. 


56    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

he   having  thrown  out  a  bill  for  a  prohibitory  tariff  on 
Italian  silks.1 

Sir  George  Saville,  M.P.  for  Yorkshire,  wrote  to  Rock- 
ingham  in  words  that  could  not  be  misunderstood: 2  "Our 
trade  is  hurt :  What  the  devil  have  you  been  a  doing  ?  For 
our  part,  we  don't  pretend  to  understand  your  politics  and 
American  matters,  but  our  trade  is  hurt;  pray  remedy  it, 
and  a  plague  of  you  if  you  wont."  Clearly  Grenville's 
policy  must  be  reversed.  Pitt  had  been  long  disabled  with 
gout,  but  happily  at  this  time  felt  somewhat  restored  and 
wrote  to  his  wife  from  Bath,  where  he  had  been  taking 
the  waters,  "I  have  been  airing  in  the  coach  to-day  for  the 
second  time:  nearly  three  hours,  and  come  [back]  untired, 
wanting  nothing  but  dinner,  and  the  sight  of  my  love  and 
of  my  children.  I  can  stand  with  the  help  of  my  crutches, 
and  hope  soon  to  discard  one  of  them."  3  A  few  weeks 
later  the  House  sat  and  became  immediately  engrossed  in 
the  consideration  of  the  Stamp  Act.  With  regard  to  this 
measure  Grenville  assured  the  members,  if  he  conceived  his 
views  biassed  by  conceit  or  mere  party  interests  he  should 
forbear  speaking  in  its  defence,  and  then  continued: 

MR.  GRENVILLE'S  SPEECH  ON  THE  TAXATION  OF  AMERICA  4 

A  solemn  law  has  been  enacted  in  Parliament,  already 
a  year  since.  It  was,  and  still  is,  the  duty  of  ministers  to 
carry  it  into  effect.  The  constitution  declares,  that  to  sus 
pend  a  law,  or  the  execution  of  a  law,  by  royal  authority, 
and  without  consent  of  Parliament,  is  felony:  in  defiance 
of  which,  this  law  has  been  suspended,  .  .  .  Your  dele 
gates  are  insulted,  their  houses  are  pillaged  .  .  .  Your  ears 
are  assailed,  from  every  quarter,  with  protestations  that 
obedience  cannot,  shall  not,  ought  not,  to  be  rendered  to 

1  Memoirs,  II,  110-12,  114.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

2  "  A  Forgotten  Friend  of  America,  Henry  Seymour  Conway."     Edward  Mor 
timer  Chapman.     New  England  Magazine,  October,  1898. 

3  Our  Country,  I,  627.     Lossing. 

4  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  121-7.     Botta. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY       57 

your  decrees.  Perhaps  other  ministers,  more  old-fashioned, 
would  have  thought  it  their  duty,  in  such  a  case,  to  lend  the 
law  the  aid  of  force;  thus  maintaining  the  dignity  of  the 
Crown,  and  the  authority  of  your  deliberations.  But  these 
young  gentlemen  who  sit  on  the  opposite  benches,  and  no 
one  knows  how,  look  upon  these  principles  as  the  antiquated 
maxims  of  our  simple  ancestors,  and  disdain  to  honor  with 
their  attention  mere  acts  of  riot,  sedition,  and  open  resistance. 
With  a  patience  truly  exemplary,  they  recommend  to  the 
governors  lenity  and  moderation;  they  grant  them  permis 
sion  to  call  in  the  aid  of  three  or  four  soldiers  from  General 
Gage,  and  as  many  cock-boats  from  Lord  Colvil;  they  com 
mend  them,  for  not  having  employed,  to  carry  the  law  into 
effect,  the  means  which  had  been  placed  in  their  hands. 

Be  prepared  to  see  that  the  seditious  are  in  the  right, 
and  that  we  only  are  in  fault :  such,  assuredly,  is  the  opinion 
of  the  ministers.  ...  It  is  but  too  apparent,  that,  much 
against  their  will,  they  have  at  length  laid  before  you  the 
disorders  and  audacious  enormities  of  the  Americans;  for 
they  began  in  July,  and  now  we  are  in  the  middle  of  January ; 
lately,  they  were  only  occurrences  —  they  are  now  grown 
to  disturbances,  tumults  and  riots.  I  doubt  they  border 
on  open  rebellion,  .  .  .  Occasion  is  fleeting,  the  danger  is 
urgent;  and  this  undisciplinable  people,  the  amiable  object 
of  their  fond  solicitude,  of  their  tender  care,  are  forming 
leagues,  are  weaving  conspiracies,  are  preparing  to  resist 
the  orders  of  the  King  and  of  the  Parliament:  continue 
then,  ye  men  of  long  suffering,  to  march  in  the  way  you  have 
chosen:  ...  In  a  word,  if  you  would  shiver  all  the  springs 
of  government,  repeal  the  law  ...  I  would  freely  listen 
to  the  counsels  of  clemency,  I  would  even  consent  to  the 
abrogation  of  the  law,  if  the  Americans  had  requested  it 
in  a  decent  mode:  .  .  .  It  is  a  thing  truly  inadmissible, 
and  altogether  new,  that,  at  any  moment,  whenever  the 
fancy  may  take  them,  .  .  .  these  men  should  set  about 
starving  our  manufacturers,  and  refuse  what  they  owe  to 
the  subjects  of  Great  Britain.  .  .  . 


58    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

When  I  proposed  to  tax  America,  I  asked  the  House  if 
any  gentlemen  would  object  to  the  right.  I  repeatedly 
asked  it;  and  no  man  would  attempt  to  deny  it.  ...  Let 
not  gentlemen  deceive  themselves,  with  regard  to  the 
rigor  of  the  tax:  it  would  not  suffice  even  for  the  necessary 
expenses  of  the  troops  stationed  in  America:  but  a  pepper 
corn,  in  acknowledgment  of  the  right,  is  of  more  value 
than  millions  without.  .  .  .  There  has  been  a  time  when 
they  would  not  have  proceeded  thus:  but  they  are  now 
supported  by  ministers  more  American  than  English. 
Already,  by  the  artifice  of  these  young  gentlemen,  inflam 
matory  petitions  are  handed  about,  against  us,  and  in  their 
favor.  .  .  .  Resistance  to  the  laws  is  applauded,  obstinacy 
encouraged,  disobedience  extolled,  rebellion  pronounced 
a  virtue!  Oh  more  than  juvenile  imprudence!  .  .  . 

When  I  had  the  honor  of  serving  the  Crown,  while  you 
yourselves  were  loaded  with  an  enormous  debt,  you  have 
given  bounties  on  their  lumber,  on  their  iron,  their  hemp, 
and  many  other  articles.  You  have  relaxed  in  their  favor, 
the  act  of  navigation,  that  palladium  of  the  British  com 
merce;  and  yet  I  have  been  abused,  in  all  the  public  papers, 
as  an  enemy  to  the  trade  of  America.  ...  I  discouraged 
no  trade  but  what  was  illicit,  what  was  prohibited  by  act 
of  Parliament.  .  .  . 

Of  myself  I  will  speak  no  more:  and  the  substance  of 
my  decided  opinion,  upon  the  subject  of  our  debates,  is 
briefly  this:  let  the  Stamp  Act  be  maintained;  and  let  the 
governors  of  the  American  provinces  be  provided  with 
suitable  means  to  repress  disorders,  and  carry  the  law  into 
complete  effect.1 

Pitt  had  a  clear,  rich  voice  that  rang  through  the  lobbies 
and  drew  all  loiterers  to  the  spot  whenever  he  took  the 
floor.2  His  speeches,  it  is  said,  were  unstudied,  and  spoken 
in  the  tone  of  a  man  gravely  advising  his  friend  in  a  matter 

1  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  127-8.      Botta. 

2  Anecdotal    History    of  the    British    Parliament,    113,    115.     George   Henry 
Jennings.     New  York,  1882:   D.  Appleton  &  Company. 


RT.  HON.  GEORGE  GRENVILLE 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY       59 

of  moment.  Now,  as  his  brother-in-law  resumed  his  seat, 
he  slowly  rose,  and  leaning  on  crutches,  his  legs  swathed  in 
flannel l  against  the  January  cold,  exclaimed: 

MR.  PITT'S  REPLY 

Would  to  heaven  that  my  health  had  permitted  my 
attendance  here,  when  it  was  first  proposed  to  tax  America.2 
...  It  is  now  an  act  that  has  passed;  I  would  speak  with 
decency  of  every  act  of  this  house,  but  I  must  beg  the 
indulgence  of  the  house  to  speak  of  it  with  freedom.  As 
suredly,  a  more  important  subject  never  engaged  your 
attention,  that  subject  only  excepted,  when,  near  a  century 
ago,  it  was  the  question  whether  you  yourselves  were  to  be 
bound,  or  free.  Those  who  have  spoken  before  me,  with 
so  much  vehemence,  would  maintain  the  act  because  our 
honor  demands  it.  If  gentlemen  consider  the  subject  in 
that  light,  they  leave  all  measures  of  right  and  wrong  to 
follow  a  delusion  that  may  lead  to  destruction.  But  can 
the  point  of  honor  stand  opposed  against  justice,  against 
reason,  against  right?  Wherein  can  honor  better  consist 
than  in  doing  reasonable  things?  .  .  .  The'  colonists  are 
the  subjects  of  this  kingdom,  equally  entitled  with  your 
selves  to  all  the  natural  rights  of  mankind,  and  the  peculiar 
privileges  of  Englishmen.  Equally  bound  by  its  laws,  and 
equally  participating  of  the  constitution  of  this  free  coun 
try.  The  Americans  are  the  sons,  not  the  bastards,  of 
England.  Taxation  is  no  part  of  the  governing  or  legisla 
tive  power.  The  taxes  are  a  voluntary  gift  and  grant  of 
the  commons  alone  .  .  .  now  this  house  represents  the 
commons,  as  they  virtually  represent  the  rest  of  the  inhab 
itants  :  when,  therefore,  in  this  house,  we  give  and  grant,  we 
give  and  grant  what  is  our  own.  But  in  an  American  tax, 
what  do  we  do?  We,  your  majesty's  commons  of  Great 
Britain,  give  and  grant  to  your  majesty,  what?  .  .  .  the 
property  of  your  commons  of  America.  It  is  an  absurdity 
in  terms.  .  .  . 

1  Our  Country,  I,  628.     Lossing. 

2  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  127-8.      Botta. 


60    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

The  commons  in  America,  represented  in  their  several 
Assemblies,  have  invariably  exercised  their  constitutional 
right  of  giving  and  granting  their  own  money;  they  would 
have  been  slaves  if  they  had  not  enjoyed  it.1 

At  the  same  time  this  kingdom  has  ever  possessed  the 
power  of  legislative  and  commercial  control.  The  colonists 
acknowledge  your  authority  in  all  things,  with  the  sole 
exception  that  you  shall  not  take  their  money  out  of  their 
pockets  without  their  consent.2 

These  words  were  received  in  profound  silence,  broken 
finally  by  Grenville's  pettish  protest:  "Protection  and  obedi 
ence  are  reciprocal ;  Great  Britain  protects  America,  America 
is  therefore  bound  to  yield  obedience.  If  not,  tell  me  when 
were  the  Americans  emancipated?"  Then,  glancing  at  Pitt, 
he  went  on: 2  "The  seditious  spirit  of  the  Colonies  owes  its 
birth  to  the  factions  in  this  house!"  and  sat  down.  Strug 
gling  again  to  his  feet,  Pitt  broke  out  vehemently: 

MR.  PITT'S  SECOND  REPLY 

Sorry  I  am  to  observe,  that  we  can  no  longer  express 
our  opinions  in  this  house,  without  being  exposed  to  cen 
sure  :  we  must  prepare  for  a  disastrous  futurity,  if  we  do  not 
oppose,  courageously,  with  our  tongues,  our  hearts,  our 
hands,  the  tyranny  with  which  we  are  menaced.  I  hear  it 
said,  that — America  is  obstinate,  America  is  almost  in  open 
rebellion.  I  rejoice  that  America  has  resisted.  Three 
millions  of  people  so  dead  to  all  the  feelings  of  liberty,  as 
voluntarily  to  submit  to  be  slaves,  would  have  been  fit  in 
struments  to  make  slaves  of  ourselves.3  "When," 2  said  the 
honorable  gentleman,  "were  the  Colonists  emancipated?" 
At  what  time,  say  I,  in  answer,  were  they  made  slaves? 
I  speak  from  actual  knowledge  when  I  say  that  the  profit 
to  Great  Britain  from  the  trade  of  the  Colonies,  through 
all  its  branches,  is  two  millions  per  annum.  This  is  the 

1  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  129.     Botta. 

2  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  268-270.     Spencer. 

8  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  130.     Botta. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY       61 

fund  that  carried  you  triumphantly  through  the  war;  this 
is  the  price  America  pays  you  for  her  protection;  and  shall 
a  miserable  financier  come  with  a  boast  that  he  can  fetch 
a  peppercorn  into  the  exchequer  at  the  loss  of  millions  to  the 
nation?  I  know  the  valor  of  your  troops,  I  know  the  skill 
of  your  officers,  I  know  the  force  of  this  country;  but  in 
such  a  cause  your  success  would  be  hazardous.  America, 
if  she  fell,  would  fall  like  a  strong  man :  she  would  embrace 
the  pillars  of  the  state,  and  pull  down  the  constitution 
with  her.  Is  this  your  boasted  peace?  not  to  sheath  the 
sword  in  the  scabbard,  but  to  sheath  it  in  the  bowels  of 
your  countrymen?  The  Americans  have  been  wronged, 
they  have  been  driven  to  madness  by  injustice.  ...  I  will 
beg  leave  to  tell  the  house  in  a  few  words  what  is  really  my 
opinion.  It  is  that  the  Stamp  Act  be  repealed  absolutely, 
totally,  and  immediately.  At  the  same  time  let  the  sover 
eign  authority  of  this  country  over  the  Colonies  be  asserted 
in  as  strong  terms  as  can  be  devised,  and  be  made  to  extend 
to  every  point  of  legislation  whatever;  that  we  may  bind 
their  trade,  confine  their  manufactures,'  and  exercise  any 
power  whatsoever,  except  that  of  taking  their  money  out 
of  their  pockets  without  their  consent. 

The  pressure  from  without  grew  steadily  stronger. 
Manufacturers  and  sailors  were  alike  idle.  No  rice,  indigo, 
tobacco,  naval  stores,  oil,  whale  fins,  furs,  or  potash  came 
to  hand.1  Colonial  merchants  of  high  standing  failed.  In 
February  Franklin  was  called  to  the  bar  of  the  House,  and 
asked  what  in  his  estimation  had  occasioned  so  much  oppo 
sition  to  the  Stamp  Act.  He  explained  l  there  were  taxes 
at  every  hand's  turn  already  —  with  a  real  and  personal 
estate  tax  of  eighteen  pence  in  the  pound,  an  income  tax 
of  half  a  crown  in  the  pound,  and  many  more  besides;  in 
sober  truth  there  was  not  specie  enough  to  meet  the  fresh 
tax  for  a  single  year.  He  further  pointed  out  that  while 
an  external  tax  on  imported  articles  was  optional,  the 

1  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  118-20.     Botta. 


62     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Stamp  Act  was  obligatory,  and  meant  extortion  or  ruin  to 
all.  As  the  debate  continued,  petitions  poured  in  from 
London,  Liverpool,  Manchester,  Birmingham,  Newcastle, 
and  Glasgow^  Every  trading  town  in  the  realm  would 
have  petitioned2  but  for  fear  of  causing  delay  where  there 
was  such  a  crying  need  for  action.  Lord  Camden3  lent  the 
weight  of  his  name,  affirming:  "My  position  is  this  —  I 
repeat  it;  I  will  maintain  it  to  the  last  hour  —  taxation  and 
representation  are  inseparable.  The  position  is  founded 
in  the  law  of  nature.  .  .  .  For  whatsoever  is  a  man's  own 
it  is  absolutely  his  own."  Win.  Blackstone,4  the  commen 
tator,  was  of  the  same  opinion. 

The  position  taken  by  the  Whig  leaders  had  its  logical 
end  in  Parliamentary  reforms  at  home,  and  their  words 
created  prejudice  or  w^on  a  following  according  as  men's 
minds  were  prepared  or  no  for  so  radical  a  change.5  Rotten 
boroughs,  from  whose  borders  the  stir  of  life  had  ebbed 
away  —  as  for  instance  where  five  men  returned  two  mem 
bers6 —  and  pocket  boroughs  that  sold  their  corporate  vote 
to  the  highest  bidder,  whether  Nabob,7  "Carribee,"  or  parti 
san,  were  the  order  of  the  day;  while  thriving  young  towns 
like  Manchester,  Birmingham,  and  Leeds,  incredible  as  it 
sounds,  had  no  voice  in  the  counsels  of  the  nation.  Elec 
tion  dinners  and  bribery  were  an  open  scandal.  We  read 
of  one  small  borough  where  980  stone  of  beef,  315  dozen  of 
wine,  72  pipes  of  ale,  and  365  gallons  of  spirits  for  punch 

1  Pictorial  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  119.  Robert  Sears.  New 
York.  1845:  Robert  Sears. 

2 "  A  Forgotten  Friend  of  America,  Henry  Seymour  Conway."  Edward 
Mortimer  Chapman,  quoting  Edmund  Burke.  New  England  Magazine,  October, 
1898. 

3  Our  Country,  I,  629.      Lossing. 

4  Memoirs,  II,  198.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

5  "  Massacre  Oration."      John  Fiske.     Boston  Evening  Transcript,  March  5, 
1899. 

6  England  and  the  English  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  I,  172.     William  Connor 
Sydney.     London,  1892:  Ward  &  Downey. 

7  George  Seliryn,  48.      Edited  by  E.  S.  Roscoe  and  Helen  Clergue.     London, 
1899:  T.  Fisher  Unwin. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY  63 

were  furnished  to  the  l  voters,  besides  a  £750  breakfast. 
It  was  felt  that  a  man  could  not  spend  £1000  a  year  more 
"pleasantly"  than  by  buying  a  borough  and  sitting  in 
Parliament,  let  him  be  as  young  and  as  silly  as  he  pleased;2 
and  unscrupulous  holders  of  votes  held  it  no  shame  to  drive 
sharp  bargains  with  rival  candidates  for  their  favor. 

The  young  King,  for  his  part,  cherished  the  existing  con 
ditions  as  more  calculated  to  render  Parliament  a  tool  in 
his  hands.  Even  in  the  Colonies  the  incorporation  of  new 
towns  was  opposed,3  since  it  increased  the  size  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  and  made  it  harder  to  control.  In  view 
of  the  many  powerful  interests  involved,  Pitt  had  no  war 
rant  for  expecting  immediate  success.  None  the  less  it  is 
worthy  of  remembrance  that  the  impetus  for  reform  had 
its  rise  in  the  Colonists'  agitations  at  this  period. 

No  pains  were  spared  on  the  part  of  the  ministry  before 
bringing  the  question  of  repeal  to  a  vote.  Convinced  by 
the  representations  of  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham  and  Lord 
Shelburne  that  bloodshed  would  result  if  the  act  remained 
in  force,  the  King  withdrew  his  opposition.4  The  support 
of  the  apple-growing  counties  was  insured  by  a  promise 
that  the  cider  tax  should  be  removed.5  And  at  length,  on 
the  night  of  February  21st,  General  Con  way,  Secretary  of 
State  and  leader  of  the  House,  ventured  to  make  the  motion. 
He  was  seconded  by  Edmund  Burke,  secretary  to  the 
Marquis  of  Rockingham,  a  young  man  of  thirty-six,  just 
coming  into  notice.  Eight  merchants  alone,  he  reminded 
the  members,  had  had  £400,000  worth  of  orders  counter 
manded  in  consequence  of  Parliament's  delay  in  acting. 
Nottingham  had  dismissed  one  thousand  hands;  Leeds  and 
other  towns  in  proportion.  It  was  much  feared  that  the 
Colonists  would  be  unable  to  discharge  their  huge  out 
standing  debt  of  £950,000  if  they  did  not  receive  speedy 

Anecdotal  History  of  the  British  Parliament,  377.     Jennings. 

Charles  Fox,  97.     Trevelyan. 

The  Bernards  of  Abington,  I,  306.     Higgins. 

American  Revolution,  I.  204.     Gordon. 

War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  133.     Botta. 


64    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

relief.  He  had  a  piece  of  cloth  in  his  pocket,  made  at 
Philadelphia  as  cheap  as  in  England.  Would  the  House 
risk  the  whole1  for  so  trifling  an  object  as  this  act  modified? 
At  1.30  A.M.  a  division  was  taken.  We  learn  from  Hutchin- 
son  that  Judge  Blackstone  would  have  preferred  to  make 
the  repeal  contingent  on  the  erasing  from  the  Colonial 
Records  all  acts  derogatory  to  the  authority  of  Parliament. 
Mr.  Grenville,  however,  was  so  vexed  he  said  he  did  not  care 
how  bad  th,ey  made  the  act,2  and  at  4  A.M.  the  motion  was 
carried,  275  to  167,  for  repeal.1  In  the  Lords,3  the  vote 
stood  105  yeas  to  71  nays,  and  on  March  18  the  King  granted 
his  consent. 

Great  were  the  rejoicings,  the  warehouses  were  illumi 
nated,  the  shipping  in  the  Thames  made  gay  with  flags,4  and 
couriers  sped  along  between  the  hedgerows,  carrying  the 
news  to  Falmouth  and  the  waiting  skippers.  The  Colonists 
had  hoped  for  the  best  from  the  outset.  John  Adams  tells 
us  of  a  meeting  he  attended  in  January,  held  by  the  Sons 
of  Liberty  at  their  own  apartment,  a  counting-room  in  Chase 
&  Speakman's  distillery,  Hanover  Square,  near  the  Liberty 
Tree.  Edes  was  present,  and  punch,  wine,  pipes,  tobacco, 
biscuits,  and  cheese  5  abounded,  while  a  committee  was 
being  chosen  to  make  preparations  for  grand  doings  upon  the 
arrival  of  the  news  of  the  repeal.  During  April  rumors 
reached  Boston  in  quick  succession  that  the  repeal  was  all 
but  assured.  On  the  21st,  it  was  voted  6  that  when  the  re 
port  was  confirmed  a  celebration  should  take  place,  "to  be 
held,"  wrote  the  Town  Clerk,  "Under  the  deepest  Sense  of 
Duty  and  Loyalty  to  our  Most  Gracious  Sovereign  King 
GEORGE,  and  in  respect  and  Gratitude  to  the  Patriotic 
Ministry,  Mr.  PITT,  and  the  glorious  Majority  of  both 
Houses  of  Parliament,  by  whose  Influence,  under  Divine 

1  Memoirs,  II,  194,  210,  211.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

2  Diary  and  Letters  of  Hutchinson,  I,  325.      Hutchinson. 

3  American  Revolution,  I,  202,  204.     Gordon. 

4  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  133.     Botta. 
1 J  Diary,  II,  178.     C.  F.  Adams. 

^Tudors  Diary,  23.     Tudor. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY  65 

Providence,  against  a  most  strenuous  Opposition,  a  happy 
Repeal  of  the  Stamp-Act,  so  unconstitutional  as  well  as 
grievous  to  His  Majesty's  good  Subjects  of  AMERICA, 
is  attained;  whereby  our  incontestible  Right  of  Internal 
Taxation  remains  to  us  inviolate." 

May  16,  Shuball  Coffin,  master  of  the  brigantine  Harrison 
of  which  Hancock  was  part  owner,  "arrived  from  London, 
about  11  of  the  clock,  and  brought,"  continues  John  Rowe,1 
exultingly,  "the  glorious  news  of  the  total  repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act,  which  was  signed  by  his  Majesty  King  George 
the  3d.  of  ever  glorious  memory,  which  God  long  preserve 
and  his  illustrious  house."  The  New  England  countryside 
was  decked  with  apple  bloom  and  needed  no  further  array, 
but  Boston  hung  out  flags,  even  on  the  churches,  "set  the 
Bells  a  Ringing,"  and  fired  salutes. 

On  the  official  date  for  celebrating,  the  little  town  was 
almost  beside  itself.  The  bells  of  Christ  Church  answered 
those  of  Hollis  Street.  "Joy  smiled  in  every  Countenance. 
Our  Gaol  was  freed  of  Debtors  by  the  Generosity  of  som 
Gentlemen;"  says  Deacon  Tudor.  At  1  o'Clock  the  Castle 
and  Battery  and  Train  of  Artillery  fired  a  Royal  Salute.2 
In  the  afternoon  twenty-five  toasts  were  drunk  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  one  being  to  Barre.  In  the  evening,  the  whole  town 
was  beautifully  illuminated,  notably  The  Bunch  o'  Grapes, 
Colonel  Joseph  Ingersoll's  Tavern  on  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  present  State  and  Kilby  Streets;  while  full-size  por 
traits  of  Pitt  were  exposed  by  Captain  Dawes  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Symmes  in  their  front  windows.3  The  Sons  of 
( Liberty  entertained  in  the  lower  rooms  of  the  Workhouse, 
overlooking  the  Common.  Nearby  on  the  Common  itself 
they  had  erected  a  "Magnificent  Pyramid  illuminated  with 
280  Lamps.  The  4  upper  Stories  were  Ornamented  with 
the  Figures  of  their  Majesties  &  Fourteen  of  the  Patriots 
\ 

1  Diary  of  John  Rowe.     Mass.  His.  Soc.,  March,  1895.     Cambridge,  1895: 
John  Wilson  and  Son. 

2  Tudor  s  Diary,  22.      Tudor. 

3  Antiquities  of  Boston,  723.     Drake. 


66    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

who  had  distinguished  themselves  for  their  love  of  Liberty; 
at  the  base  were  poetic  inscriptions."  The  obelisk  was 
designed  by  Revere  and  has  been  cleverly  described  1  by 
Lucius  Manlius  Sargent  as  follows: 

INSCRIPTIONS  ON  THE  REPEAL  OBELISK 

On  the  first  side  were  portraits  of  D.  Y-k,  Duke  of  York; 
M-q-s  R-m,  Marquis  of  Rockingham;  Q.  C.,  Queen  Char 
lotte;  K.  G.  Ill,  King  George  III.  The  lines  ran: 

O  thou,  whom  next  to  Heav'n  we  most  revere 
Fair  LIBERTY!   thou  lovely  Goddess  hear! 
Have  we  not  woo'd  thee,  won  thee,  held  thee  long, 
Lain  in  thy  Lap  &  melted  on  thy  Tongue. 
Thro  Death  &  Dangers  rugged  paths  pursu'd 
And  led  thee  smiling  to  this  SOLITUDE. 
Hid  thee  within  our  Hearts  most  golden  Cell 
And  brav'd  the  Powers  of  Earth  &  Powers  of  Hell. 
GODDESS!  we  cannot  part,  thou  must  not  fly; 
Be  SLAVES !  we  dare  to  Scorn  it  —  dare  to  die. 

The  illustration,  entitled:  America  in  Distress,  appre 
hending  the  Total  Loss  of  LIBERTY,  shows  America 
recumbent  and  dejected,  in  the  form  of  an  Indian  chief, 
under  a  pine  tree,  the  angel  of  Liberty  hovering  over;  the 
Prime  Minister  advancing  with  a  chain,  followed  by  one  of 
the  Bishops,  and  others,  Bute  clearly  designated  by  his 
Scotch  plaid,  and  gaiters;  overhead,  flying  towards  the 
Indian,  with  the  Stamp  Act  in  his  right  claw,  is  the  Devil, 
of  whom  it  is  manifest  our  patriotic  sires  had  a  very  clever 
conception.  On  the  second  side  are  G-l  C-y,  General 
Con  way;  L-d  T-d,  Lord  Townsend;  C-l  B-e,  Colonel 
Barre;  W-m  P-t,  William  Pitt.  Revere  continues: 

While  clanking  Chains  &  Curses  shall  salute 
Thine  Ears  remorseless  G— le  [Grenville],  thine  O  B— e  [Bute], 
To  you  blest  PATRIOTS!   we  our  Cause  submitt 
Illustrious  CAMDEN!  Britains  Guardian  PITT. 

1  Life  of  Revere,  I,  40-6.     Goss. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY       67 

Recede  not,  frown  not,  rather  let  us  be 
Depriv'd  of  being,  than  of  LIBERTY. 
Let  fraud  or  malice  blacken  all  our  Crimes 
No  disaffection  staines  these  peaceful  Climes; 
O  save  us,  shield  us  from  impending  Woes 
The  foes  of  Britain,  only  are  our  Foes. 

In  the  sketch  below,  America  Implores  the  Aid  of  her 
PATRONS.  She  is  shown  on  one  knee,  pointing  over  her 
shoulder  at  a  retreating  group  composed,  as  the  chain  and 
the  plaid  inform  us,  of  Prime  Minister  Bute  and  com 
pany,  upon  whose  heads  a  thunder-cloud  is  bursting.  At  the 
same  time  America,  the  Indian  as  before,  supplicates  the 
aid  of  others,  whose  leader  is  being  crowned  by  Fame,  with 
a  laurel  wreath.  The  enormous  nose,  a  great  help  to  iden 
tification,  marks  the  Earl  of  Chatham;  Camden  may  be 
known  by  his  wig;  and  Barre  by  his  military  air.  On  the 
third  side  are  L-d  D-h,  Lord  Dartmouth;  A-n  B-D, 
Alderman  Beckford;  L-d  D-l,  [?];  C-s  T-d,  Charles 
Townshend. 

Boast  foul  Oppression,  boast  thy  transient  Reign 
While  honest  FREEDOM  struggles  with  her  Chain; 
But  know  the  Sons  of  Virtue,  hardy,  brave, 
Disdain  to  lose  thro'  mean  Dispair  to  save 
Arrouz'd  in  Thunder,  awfull  they  appear 
With  proud  deliverance  stalking  in  their  Rear 
While  Tyrant-Foes  their  pallid  Fears  betray 
Shrink  from  their  Arms,  &  give  their  Vengeance  way. 
See  in  th'  unequal  War  OPPRESSORS  fall 
The  hate,  contempt,  and  endless  Curse  of  all. 

Beneath  is  the  sketch:  The  Tree  of  Liberty,  with  an 
eagle  feeding  its  young  in  the  topmost  branches,  and  an 
angel  advancing  with  an  aegis;  and  its  title  is,  She  endures 
the  Conflict,  for  a  short  Season.  The  remaining  side  had 
likenesses  of  L-d  G-e  S-k-e,  Lord  George  Sackville;  Mr. 
De  B-t,  Mr.  Dennis  DeBert;  J-n  W-s,  John  Wilkes;  L-d 
C-n,  Lord  Camden. 


68    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Our  FAITH  approv'd,  our  LIBERTY  restor'd, 

Our  Hearts  bend  grateful  to  our  Sover'gn  Lord; 

Hail  darling  Monarch !  by  this  act  endear'd 

Our  firm  affections  are  thy  best  reward 

Sh'd  Britains  self,  against  herself  devide, 

And  hostile  Armies  frown  on  either  Side, 

Sh'd  Hosts  rebellious  shake  our  Brunswick's  Throne 

And  as  they  dar'd  thy  Parent,  dare  the  Son, 

To  this  Asylum  stretch  thine  happy  Wing 

And  we'll  contend,  who  best  shall  love  our  KING. 

The  sketch  is:  George  the  Third  in  armor,  resembling 
a  Dutch  widow  in  a  long-short,  introducing  America  to  the 
Goddess  of  Liberty,  who  are,  apparently,  just  commencing 
the  Polka.  Its  title  is,  And  has  her  LIBERTY  restored  by 
the  Royal  hand  of  GEORGE  the  Third. 

It  was  intended  the  obelisk  should  find  a  permanent  home 
by  the  Liberty  Tree,  but  it  was  accidentally  burnt  up. 
There  were  many  opportunities  for  fire.  It  was  requested 
that  each  householder  should1  illuminate;  a  candle  could  be 
placed  in  the  window,  if  nothing  more,  and  we  may  be  sure 
that  the  winding  old  streets  were  lit  up  for  once.  One 
hundred  and  eight  lanterns  —  one  still  preserved  in  the 
custody  of  the  Bostonian  Society — swung  triumphantly  on 
the  Liberty  Tree  itself,  in  memory  of  the  first  majority 
in  the  House  for  repeal.2 

Before  his  house  on  Beacon  Hill,  John  Hancock  erected 
a  platform,  where  a  pipe  of  Madeira  was  broached  for  all 
comers.  Mr.  Otis  and  some  other  gentlemen  who  lived 
near  the  Common  also  kept  open  house,  and  it  is  said  that 
"the  multitude  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  who  were  contin 
ually  passing  from  one  place  to  another,  added  much  to 
the  brilliancy  of  the  night."  3  The  signal  for  uncovering 
the  obelisk  was  a  flight  of  twelve  rockets  let  off  on  the  Com- 

1  Tudor  s  Diary,  23.     Tudor. 

2  History  of  Boston,  267.     Snow. 

3  John  Ha?icock  His  Book,  129.     Brown. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY       69 

mon  and  answered  from  Hancock's  platform.  Immedi 
ately  the  sky  was  alive  with  rockets  and  the  ground  swarmed 
with  "beehives  and  serpents."  John  Rowe  enters  in  his 
diary:1  "This  day  is  the  joyful  day  indeed  for  all  America. 
.  .  .  Dined  at  Colo.  Ingersoll's  with  twenty  eight  gentle 
men.  We  drank  fifteen  toasts;  and  very  loyal  they  were, 
and  suited  to  the  occasion.  .  .  .  Mr.  Hancock  .  .  .  treated 
every  person  with  cheerfulness.  I  contributed  as  much 
to  the  general  joy  as  any  person;  the  whole  was  much  ad 
mired,  and  the  Day  crowned  with  glory  and  honor."  The 
"glory"  came  to  a  climax  at  eleven,  when,  at  the  signal  of 
twenty-one  rockets  rushing  skyward,  a  horizontal  wheel  on 
top  of  the  pyramid  was  set  whirling,  and  as  it  spun  around, 
no  less  than  sixteen  dozen  (192)  serpents  shot  forth  all 
alight!  Among  other  tributes  noted  at  this  time  is  a  com 
plimentary  poem  to  the  King,  said  to  have  been  written  by 
Phillis,  the  young  negro  girl  bought  by  Mrs.  John  Wheately, 
1761,  at  the  Boston  slave  market,  still  a  child  in  years.2 
The  festivities  spread  into  the  country  by  degrees,  and  four 
days  later  we  find  Rowe  at  Rutland,  where -the  people  "had 
a  large  bonfire  and  many  sky  rockets  which,"  says  he,  "I 
put  them  in  a  way  to  fire."  After  a  "genteel  entertainment 
at  the  tavern,"  with  others,  Rowe  returned  to  Colonel 
Murray's  and  had  a  "grand  supper  .  .  .  many  loyal  healths 
drunk."1  For  a  brief  period  it  was  grateful  to  old  friends 
to  forget  the  recent  friction  and  with  common  consent  toast 
their  King  and  the  wise  Pitt. 

The  pedestal  of  a  Pillar  of  Liberty  still3  stands  near 
Dedham  Court-house  which  was  set  up  July  22d.  It  was 
originally  surmounted  by  a  bust  of  Pitt  and  the  northerly 
face  bears  the  inscription:  "The  Pillar  of  LIBERTY  to  the 
honor  of  WILLM.  PITT,  Esqr.  and  other  PATRIOTS  who  saved 

1  Diary  of  John  Rowe.     Mass.  His.  Soc.,  March,  1895. 

2  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  76.     Higgins. 

3  Dedham  Historical  Register.    October,  1890:  published  by  Dedham  Historical 
Society.     Also  the  Town  of  Dedham,  250th  anniversary,  176.     Cambridge,  1887: 
John  Wilson  and  Son. 


70    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

AMERICA  from  impending  Slavery,  &  confirm'd  our  most 
loyal  Affection  to  Kg  GEORGE  III  by  procuring  a  Repeal 
of  the  Stamp  Act,  18th.  MARCH,  1766." 

On  Sunday,  May  4th,  returning  from  church  at  Quincy, 
John  Adams  first  noticed  a  "likely  young  button  wood, " l 
set  out  in  the  triangle  of  three  roads,  opposite  the  present 
Episcopal  church.  It  was  marked:  "The  Tree  of  Liberty, 
and  cursed  is  he  who  cuts  this  tree!"  Eight  years  later 
it  is  said  to  have  died  a  natural  death.  The  Boston  Lib 
erty  Tree,2  which  had  been  inscribed:  "The  Tree  of  Lib 
erty,  August  14,  1765,"  was  now,  upon  the  first  intimation 
of  a  change  in  the  ministry,  formally  adopted  by  the  Sons 
of  Liberty,  pruned  by  their  order,  and  used  as  a  rally 
ing  spot.  Eventually  it  became  notorious  enough  to  be 
compared  by  Governor  Bernard  to  Jack  Cade's  Oak  of 
Reformation. 

The  King's  birthday  was  kept  in  New  York  by  a  grand 
dinner  at  the  King's  Arms  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway 
opposite  the  Bowling  Green,  where  General  Gage  had  his 
headquarters.  An  ox  was  roasted  whole  in  the  Fields, 
twenty-five  barrels  of  beer  were  broached,  twenty-five  can 
non  roared  a  salute,  twenty-five  tar  barrels  blazed  gloriously. 
In  the  glow  of  good  feeling  which  followed,  the  Sons  of 
Liberty  were  allowed  to  raise  a  pole  opposite  Warren  Street 
in  the  Fields,  inscribed,  "To  His  Most  Gracious  Majesty 
George  III,  Mr.  Pitt  and  Liberty."  Two  weeks  later,  in 
a  burst  of  loyalty,  the  Assembly  voted  a  marble  statue  of 
Pitt  to  be  placed  at  the  corner  of  Wall  and  William  Streets, 
and  one  of  the  King,  mounted,  to  be  placed  on  the  Bowl 
ing  Green.3  This  last  was  made  of  lead  and  gilded,  the 
people  little  foreseeing  at  that  date  they  should  run  it 
into  bullets.  Away  to  the  southward  spread  the  rejoic 
ings,  Virginia4  and  South  Carolina3  joyfully , voting  statues 

1  History  of  Norfolk  County,  332.     Kurd. 

2  History  of  Boston,  266.     Snow. 

3  Our  Country,  I,  631-2.     Lossing. 

4  Popular  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Ill,  350.     Bryant  and  Gay. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY  71 

in  their  turn.  An  interesting  caricature,  by  an  unknown 
hand,  has  come  down  to  us  from  this  period.  It  represents 1 
a  procession  approaching  a  family  vault,  inscribed  to  the 
memory  of  the  Hearth  and  Ship  monies,  the  Excise  Bill, 
Jew  Bill,  and  General  Warrants,  and  decorated  with  the 
skulls  of  the  Old  and  Young  Pretender,  1715  and  1745.  The 
burial  service  is  being  read,  and  a  funeral  sermon  by  Anti- 
Sejanus  (the  Rev.  James  Scott,  a  partisan  against  Bute) 2 
pronounced.  The  coffin,  carried  by  Grenville,  is  labelled 
"Miss  Anne  Stamp,  B.  1765,  died  1766."  Lord  Bute,  the 
Duke  of  Bedford,  and  Lord  Temple,  Lords  Halifax, 
Sandwich,  and  two  Bishops  follow  as  chief  mourners.  The 
banners  have  an  illustration  of  the  stamps  upon  them. 
The  bales  at  the  right  are  labelled,  "Black  Cloth  from 
America"  and  "Stamps  from  America."  "A  statue  of 
Mr.  Pitt"  is  being  loaded  from  the  largest  of  the  warehouses, 
which  has  upon  it:  "The  Sheffield  and  Birmingham  ware 
house.  Goods  now  ship'd  for  America."  The  other  build 
ings  along  the  wharf  are  marked,  "Liverpool,"  "Leeds," 
' '  Halifax, ' '  and  * '  Manchester . ' '  The  large  Vessels  are  named 
Conway,  Rockingham,  and  Graf  ton. 

Although  the  conditions  were  improved,  none  saw  more 
clearly  than  Samuel  Adams  that  all  was  not  settled,  and 
that  friends  and  means  were  needful  to  success.  That 
May,  when  the  choice  for  a  representative  was  gravitating 
toward  John  Rowe,  he  is  said3  to  have  glanced  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Beacon  Hill,  and  asked,  "Is  there  not  another  John 
that  may  do  better?"  thus  skilfully  attaching  John  Han 
cock  to  the  Patriots'  party.  This  meant  much,  since  he 
had  inherited  (1764)  from  his  uncle4  Thomas  Hancock 
£70,000  —  $350,000  —  the  largest  private  fortune  in  the 
Province.  John  Hancock  3d,  sometimes  known  as  the 
Lucullus 5  of  New  England,  was  born  at  Quincy,  1737; 

1  Life  of  Revere,  I,  48.     Goss. 

2  Memoirs,  II,  191.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

3  American  Revolution,  I,  207.     Gordon., 

4  John  Hancock  His  Book,  45.     Brown. 

5  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  284.     Spencer. 


72    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

left  fatherless  at  seven,  he  spent  much  of  his  time  as  a  child 
at  Lexington,  where  his  grandfather  was  fifty-four  years 
minister.  A  Boston  Latin  schoolboy,  he  was  graduated  from 
Harvard  1754,  and  being  in  England  at  the  time  witnessed 
George  the  Third's  Coronation,  little  suspecting  the  part 
he  was  to  play  against  him.  He  was  now  twenty-nine  years 
of  age.  While  the  Assembly  was  still  in  session  that  June, 
Otis  received  a  letter  from  the  Reverend  Jonathan  May- 
hew  of  the  West  Church,  Lynde  Street,  then  lying  at  death's 
door.  "You  have  heard,"  he  writes,  "of  the  communion 
of  churches.  While  I  was  thinking  of  this  on  my  bed,  the 
great  use  and  importance  of  a  communion  of  Colonies, 
appeared  to  me  in  a  very  strong  light,  which  determined 
me  to  set  down  these  hints  for  you,  not  knowing  but  the 
house  may  be  suddenly  prorogued  or  dissolved.  Would  it 
not  be  decorous  for  our  assembly  to  send  circulars  to  all 
the  rest,  expressing  a  desire  to  cement  union  among  our 
selves?  A  good  foundation  for  this  has  been  laid  by  the 
Congress  at  New  York;  never  losing  sight  of  this  may  be 
the  means  of  perpetuating  our  liberties."  *  A  few  days 
after  making  this  fruitful  suggestion  the  young  parson 
died.  John  Adams  tells  us,  up  to  this  time  Harrison  Gray 
had  been  thoroughly  "sound,"  but,  deprived  of  his  "oracle," 
notwithstanding  his  daughter  had  married  Otis'  brother, 
he  was  overcome  by  "ministerial  monkery,"  and  deserted 
his  friends.  Colonel  Brattle,  of  the  Cambridge  militia, 
had  likewise  been  outspoken  on  the  Colonial  side,  but  the 
"gudgeon,"  says  Adams,2  no  sooner  was  proffered  the  newly 
created  office  of  brigadier-general  than  he  caught  at  the 
bait  and  followed  Gray  into  the  Government  ranks.  In 
order  to  put  a  check  on  the  too  free  expression  of  Tory 
sentiments,  the  Town-house  debates  from  this  time  forward 
were  held  with  open  doors  and  a  gallery  was  provided  for 
the  use  of  visitors.3 

1  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  III,  20. 

2  Annals  of  the  Revolution,  204.     Morse. 

3  American  Revolution,  I,  209.     Gordon. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY       73 

After  achieving  the  Repeal,  Conway  turned  his  atten 
tion  to  securing  a  redress  for  the  sufferers  by  the  late  dis 
turbances,  and  despatched  a  circular  letter  to  the  several 
Colonies.  In  laying  the  matter  before  the  Massachusetts 
Assembly,  Governor  Bernard  displayed  his  customary  want 
of  tact  and  met  with  a  scornful  response:  "If  this  recom 
mendation,"  ran  the  message,  "which  your  Excellency 
terms  a  'requisition,9  be  founded  on  so  much  justice  and 
humanity  that  it  cannot  be  controverted;  if  the  authority 
with  which  it  is  introduced  should  preclude  all  disputation 
about  complying  with  it,  we  should  be  glad  to  know  what 
freedom  we  have  in  the  case."1  In  the  end,  however,  an 
indemnification  bill  was  passed,  subject  to  a  proviso  of 
free  pardon  to  all  concerned,  Hutchinson2  receiving  for  his 
share  £3,194  17s.  6d.  After  some  demur  the  New  York 
Assembly  consented  to  compensate  everyone  except  Lieu 
tenant-Governor  Colden.  Shortly  after  the  repeal  was 
granted,  the  Mutiny  Act  had  been  extended  to  America, 
by  which  means  as  many  troops  could  be  sent  out  to  the 
Colonies,  and  quartered  upon  the  inhabitants,  as  the  min 
isters  at  any  time  saw  fit.  Nettled  by  the  tone  in  which 
the  indemnitory  bill  was  received,  a  new  clause  was  now 
added  extending  the  military  requisition,  so  that,  in  the 
end,  it  included  firewood,  candles,  soap,  bedding,  cooking 
gear,  vinegar,  salt,  cider,  beer,  and  rum.3 

Unhappily,  the  interests  of  the  Colonists  were  too  fre 
quently  treated  as  a  mere  party  issue,  and  not  considered 
on  their  own  merits,  so  that  opportunities  for  a  peaceful 
solution  of  matters  had  no  sooner  been  attained  than 
some  unconsidered  act  plunged  all  into  fresh  turmoil. 
The  Stamp  Act  itself  was  only  carried  by  Pitt's  insertion 
of  the  so-called  Declaratory  Act.  The  Whigs  made  an 
arbitrary  distinction  between  the  power  to  tax  and  the 
power  to  legislate.  Drawn  on  these  lines,  the  bill  might 

1  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  279-80.     Spencer. 

2  Life  of  Hutchinson,  123.     Hosmer. 

3  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  139.     Botta. 


74    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

have  proved  no  stumbling-block,  but  this  the  Tories  would 
not  admit  for  an  instant.  To  their  thinking,1  a  charter 
from  the  Crown,  unconfirmed  by  Parliament,  was  not  enough 
to  entitle  the  Colonists  to  a  voice  in  the  direction  of 
their  affairs.  The  law  of  England  rested  on  the  statutes  of 
Parliament  and  the  immemorial  customs  of  the  manors,  or 
ancient  courts  of  freeholders,  where  the  lord,  or  his  steward, 
sat  as  judge,  and  the  freeholders,  by  virtue  of  their  hold 
ings,  served  as  jurors.  Since  land  in  the  New  World  was 
differently  come  by,  they  claimed,  it  carried  no  such  privi 
leges,  and  declared  roundly: 2  "Whereas:  several  of  the 
houses  of  Representatives  in  His  Majesty's  colonies  and 
plantations  in  America,  have  .  .  .  claimed  to  themselves 
.  .  .  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  of  imposing  duties  and 
taxes,  ...  be  it  declared  .  .  .  ,  that  the  said  colonies  .  .  . 
have  been,  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  subordinate  unto 
and  dependent  upon  the  imperial  crown  and  parliament  of 
Great  Britain;  and  that  the  King's  Majesty,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal, 
and  Commons  of  Great  Britain,  in  Parliament  assembled, 
had,  hath,  and  of  right  ought  to  have,  full  power  and 
authority  to  make  laws  and  statutes  of  sufficient  force  and 
validity  to  bind  the  Colonists  and  people  of  America, 
subjects  of  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  in  all  cases  what 


soever." 


A  growing  party  in  the  Colonies,  meanwhile,  came  to 
hold  that  the  Provinces  were  independent  of  Parliament  in 
every  respect,  although  admitting  allegiance  to  the  King's 
person.  So  the  quarrel  went  on  interminably  through  one 
State  paper  after  another,  Lieutenant- Governor  Hutchin- 
son  laboring  in  vain  to  bring  his  people  to  a  sense  of  their 
duty  as  he  conceived  it. 

Already  the  desirability  of  bringing  a  regiment  or  two 
into  Boston  was  under  the  consideration  of  Governor 
Bernard  and  his  allies,  Hutchinson,  Hallowell,  Paxton, 

1  The  War  in  America,  I,  65-7.     Murray. 

2  Ibid.  I,  200. 


COLONIES  UNITE  SUCCESSFULLY       75 

and  Judge  Auchmuty;  their  meetings  being  held1  with 
great  privacy  at  Judge  Auchmuty 's  own  house  in  Roxbury. 
The  friends  of  Government  expected  much  from  the  quiet 
ing  results  of  a  garrison — a  dream  from  which  they  were 
rudely  awakened.  The  story  of  the  departure  of  one  of  the 
regiments  that  found  its  way  to  Boston  has  been  preserved 
in  the  following  doggerel  lines:2 

The  third  day  of  June,  in  the  year  sixty-seven, 

The  Xth.  in  three  transports,  sail'd  out  of  Cork-haven; 

All  jovial  and  hearty  like  soldiers  so  valiant 

And  Commodore  Hale  was  quite  top  and  top  gallant. 

But  vain  was  the  courage  of  fresh  water  sailors; 
The  next  day  they  look'd  like  a  parcel  of  tailors, 
And,  tho'  the  King's  birthday  the  glass  was  rejected; 
And  Crampton  and  Parsons  for  once  look'd  dejected. 

Sure  never  poor  Gentlemen  were  in  worse  condition. 
Poor  Shaw,  for  a  farthing  would  have  sold  his  commission: 
And  Edwards,  and  Vernon,  Taite,  Parsons,  and  Kelly, 
Were  pictures  of  Jonas  just  from  the  whale's,  belly. 

Now  Thwaites  grown  a  sailor,  made  use  of  such  hard  words, 
His  right  was  his  starboard,  his  left  was  his  larboard: 
While  Parsons,  still  using  the  soldier-like  terms  of  war, 
Tacking  call'd  wheeling,  fore  and  aft,  front  and  rear. 

But  such  was  then*  hurry,  and  such  was  their  boozing, 
In  nine  weeks,  of  wine  they  drank  ninety-one  dozen: 
Of  rum,  shrub,  and  brandy,  good  twenty -eight  gallons; 
And  fifty-six  ditto  of  porter  to  balance. 

At  length  out  of  spirits,  and  out  of  provision, 

They  arriv'd  at  Point  Levi  in  doleful  condition, 

But  the  sight  of  Quebec  soon  with  courage  renewed  them; 

And  the  Spirit  of  Wolfe  as  they  landed  review'd  them. 

Broils  followed  hard  upon  the  landing  of  the  troops  in 
New  York.     The  Liberty  Pole  had  stood  in  its  glory  barely 

1  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  II,  343. 

2  LittelVs  Living  Age,  June  19,  1858. 


76    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

three  months  when  a  party  of  redcoats  laid  it  low.1  The 
next  evening  it  was  re-erected  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty  after 
a  hand  to  hand  struggle  resulting  in  bloodshed.  A-  month 
later  it  was  again  felled  and  again  restored,  this  time  bound 
with  an  iron  girdle  so  it  could  not  be  cut.  The  soldiers 
thereupon  fired  at  random  into  a  house  where  the  Liberty 
boys  were  gathered  and  the  Governor  was  forced  to  inter 
fere.  Strife  for  precedence2  between  the  Governor's  wife, 
Lady  Moore,  and  Mrs.  Gage,  the  lady  of  the  Commander- 
in-Chief,  soon  set  in,  and  by  spring  had  run  such  lengths  a 
duel  had  nearly  taken  place  and  public  assemblies  were  at 
a  standstill. 

1  Our  Country,  I,  634.      Lossing. 

2  The   Francis    Letters,    I,  85-6.      Sir  Philip    Francis.      Edited    by   Beata 
Francis  and  Eliza  Keary,  quoting  Alexander  Mackrabie.     London:  Hutchinson 
and  Co. 


CHAPTER  III 

RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS.   TROOPS  QUAR 
TERED  ON  BOSTON 

MATTERS  still  continued  difficult  in  England.  While 
nominally  representing  Government,  the  Rocking- 
ham  Cabinet  was  hampered  by  the  King's  party  leaders1 
(Lord  Eglington  in  the  Upper  House,  Jerry  Dyson,  famil 
iarly  known2  as  "Mungo,"  after  an  unscrupulous  slave  in 
the  "Padlock,"  in  the  Commons)  continually  undermin 
ing  their  effort,  in  the  hope  of  reinstating  Bute.  Their 
liberal  policy  in  repealing  the  Stamp  Act  was  particularly 
vexing  to  the  King,  and  early  in  July  Lord  Chancellor 
Northington,3  sure  of  support  in  secret,  picked  a  quarrel 
with  his  colleagues  and  stayed  from  the  Council.  When 
the  ministry  met  without  him  he  vowed  they  should  never 
do  it  more,  drove  to  Richmond,  and  handed  in  his  resigna 
tion.  When  the  ministers  saw  the  King  in  regard  to  this, 
he  answered  coolly,  "Then  I  must  see  what  I  can  do," 
and  dismissed  them  out  of  hand,  stating  he  had  sent  for 
Mr.  Pitt.  Pitt,  unhappily  for  his  fame,  in  the  formation 
of  the  new  ministry  consented  to  accept  the  office  of  Lord 
Privy  Seal,  which  entailed  his  elevation  to  the  peerage. 
The  great  Commoner  had  wielded  an  influence  never  con 
ceded  4  to  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  and  orders  for  illumina 
tions  about  the  base  of  the  Monument  were  countermanded 
in  London.  Grafton,  the  late  Secretary,  who  had  com 
mended  himself  to  the  King  by  his  compliant,  indolent 

1  Charles  Fox,  118.     Trevelyan. 

2  Memoirs,  III,  211.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 
8  Ibid.  II,  237-8. 

4  Ibid.  II,  254-5. 

77 


78    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

manner,  now  received  a  seat  in  the  Council,  being  appointed 
head  of  the  Treasury. 

The  Earl  of  Shelburne,  twenty-nine  years  of  age,  suc 
ceeded  the  Duke  of  Richmond  as  Secretary  of  State,  and 
Charles  Townshend  became  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 
of  whom  Walpole  writes,1  on  one  occasion:  "His  speech  of 
last  Friday,  made  while  half  drunk,  was  all  wit  and  indis 
cretion;  nobody  but  he  could  have  made  it,  nobody  but 
he  would  have  made  it  if  he  could.  .  .  .  He  beat  Lord 
Chatham  in  language,  Burke  in  metaphors,  Grenville  in 
presumption,  Rigby  in  impudence,  himself  in  folly,  and 
everybody  in  good-humor."  He  had  been  receiving  £7000 
a  year  as  paymaster  and  was  staggered  upon  receiving  a 
line  from  Pitt.  "Sir:  You  are  of  too  great  a  magnitude 
not  to  be  in  a  responsible  place;  I  intend  to  propose  you  to 
the  King  to-morrow  for  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and 
must  desire  to  have  your  answer  to-night  by  nine  o'clock." 
The  latter  post  was  worth  but  £2700  a  year  and  Townshend 
in  his  dismay,  it  is  said,  sat  at  home  in  his  nightgown,  show 
ing  Pitt's  note  to  all  comers  and  running  to  the  window  at 
the  rumble  of  a  coach  to  see  if  his  brother  or  the  Duke  of 
Grafton  were  come.  At  last  he  sought  Pitt  and  begged  to 
retain  his  pay  mastership,  but  no  sooner  was  his  wish  granted 
than  he  changed  his  mind.  Pitt  told  him  it  was  too  late 
and  Mr.  Dowdeswell  would  continue  on,  upon  which  Town 
shend  wept.  Pitt  still  refusing  to  take  up  the  matter  the 
Duke  of  Grafton  interceded,  and  next  day  Townshend 
complacently  told  the  King  that  Pitt  had  said  so  much,  he 
had  agreed  to  accept.2  Such  divergent  natures  went  to 
the  forming  of  the  new  Cabinet  it  could  not  be  expected 
to  work  together  harmoniously.  "Sir,  your  name?"  was 
asked  on  all  sides,3  many  being  entire  strangers  to  one 
another.  The  late  Admiral  Byng's  daughter  writes  to  her 
son,  young  Osborn,  during  the  autumn:  "'Tis  in  vain  to 

1  Letters,  VII,  105,  note  106.     Walpole,  ed.  Toynbee. 

2  Anecdotal  History  of  the  British  Parliament,  131.     Jennings. 

3  Our  Country,  I,  633.     Lossing. 


RT.  HON.  CHARLES  TOWNSHEND 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS     79 

send  you  a  red  book,  unless  one  was  printed  every  month. 
The  old  saying  was1  *  Those  out  —  pout.  Those  in  - 
grin,'  but  now,  out  or  in  all  is  pout  .  .  .  though  I  am  sev 
enty-three,  I  have  never  seen  anything  like  it  —  they  tye 
and  untye  every  day  as  convenience  and  opportunity  offer." 
Lord  Chatham  fell  ill 2  almost  at  the  outset,  and  lay  at  an 
inn  in  Marlborough  on  his  way  up  from  Bath,  unable  to 
see  callers.  In  his  absence  affairs  ran  utterly  counter  to 
his  purpose.  "Peace,"  writes  Horace  Walpole,3  "was  not 
his  element;  nor  did  his  talent  lie  in  those  details  that 
restore  a  nation  by  slow  and  wholesome  progress.  Of  the 
finances  he  was  utterly  ignorant.  .  .  .  The  multiplication 
table  did  not  admit  of  being  treated  in  epic,  and  Lord  Chat 
ham  had  but  that  one  style."  This  was  the  more  unfor 
tunate  as  with  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  a  means  must  be 
found  for  reducing  the  heavy  home  taxes.  To  those  not 
in  receipt  of  its  enormous  profits,  the  East  India  Company 
just  then  was  an  occasion  of  jealous  suspicion.  Chatham, 
far  above  private  aims,  was  captivated  by  the  theory  that 
its  immense  revenues  could  easily  meet  'all  debts,  includ 
ing  the  Civil  List,  if,  as  some  supposed,  the  company  had 
exceeded  its  charter  and  laid  it  open  to  forfeiture.4  As 
early  as  August  an  inquiry  into  the  company's  affairs  in 
Bengal  was  proposed  in  the  House  by  his  confidant,  Beck- 
ford;  the  Chancellor,  Townshend,  taking  advantage  of 
the  interim  to  raise  and  lower  the  stocks  for  his  own  advan 
tage.5  The  Opposition,  by  way  of  defence,  dwelt  on  the 
cost  of  maintenance  to  the  company;  for  example,  some 
£5,000,000  had  been  spent  in  forts,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
exaggerated6  notions  of  their  revenue.  Grenville  even 
declaimed6  on  the  sacredness  of  charter  rights.  The  debate 

1  Letters  of  a  Lady  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,   153-4.     Edited  by  Emily  F. 
D.  Osborn.     New  York,  1891 :  Dodd,  Mead  &  Company. 

2  Memoirs,  II,  243,  295.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

3  Ibid.  259,  307. 

4  Ibid.  276-7. 

5  Ibid.  278-9. 

6  Ibid.  II,  288-9. 


80    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

dragged  on,  developing  as  it  went  such  crying  abuses  and 
inability  on  the  part  of  the  directors  to  control  their  sub 
ordinates,  the  more  honest-minded  in  the  Opposition  felt 
that  the  Crown  would  be  justified1  in  stepping  in.  While 
this  was  yet  under  discussion,  Parliament  met  early  in  the 
new  year,  1767.  Townshend,  assured  that  the  East  India 
Company's  funds  would  soon  be  available,  promised2  that 
if  he  should  still  be  Chancellor  next  year  the  land  tax  should 
be  reduced  to  three  shillings  in  the  pound;  for  the  moment 
it  must  continue  at  four  shillings,  to  meet  the  war  debt. 
The  Opposition  caught  at  the  opportunity  to  badger  the 
ministry  and  clamored  for  an  instant  reduction;  and  Dr. 
Hay  plausibly  suggested2  that  a  fresh  tax  laid  in  America 
could  meet  the  deficit.  Grenville  had  his  fling3  at  Chat 
ham  as  a  man  who  "would  spend  money  but  left  others  to 
raise  it;"  and  on  a  division,  much  to  their  surprise,  the  vote 
stood  188  to  206  for  the  Opposition.  Chatham  arrived  from 
Marlborough  in  March,  but  in  quite  a  shattered  state,4 
holding  aloof  from  public  life;  making  the  same  answer  to 
Conway,  who  sought  his  counsel,  respecting  the  Colonies' 
tribulations  as  he  had  with  regard  to  the  East  Indian  diffi 
culties: —  that  these  problems  would  "find  their  way 
through  the  House."5  Unhappily,  with  a  Parliament  so 
subservient,  there  was  little  or  no  check  on  a  Government 
measure,  however  ill  considered;  especially  when  it  con 
cerned  the  transference  of  a  burden  to  distant  shoulders. 
Townshend  accordingly  without  difficulty  brought  forward 
the  Revenue  Act  which  bears  his  name,  which  was  passed 
during  June,  to  take  effect  in  November.6 

This  act  laid  an  indirect  tax7  on  articles  of  trade,  partic 
ularly  on  glass,  4s.  Sd.  a  cwt.,  red  and  white  lead,  painters' 

1  Memoirs,  II,  319.      Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

2  Ibid.  298-9. 
Ibid.  300. 
Ibid.  302,  320. 
Ibid.  307. 

The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  143.     Botta. 
War  in  America,  I,  197-9.     Murray. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS        81 

colors,  note  paper,  wrapping  paper,  wall  paper,  and  tea, 
-  the  receipts  to  form  a  fund  for  the  payment  of  the  gov 
ernors'  and  judges'  salaries,  and  other  expenses  of  a  Civil 
List.1 

The  Colonists  at  once  took  alarm.  If  the  governors 
had  no  personal  interest  in  the  calling  of  the  Legislature, 
they  felt  it  was  a  chance  if  it  were  called  at  all.  Again, 
since  the  judges,  once  appointed,  by  the  law  of  the  land,1 
could  not  be  removed  except  of  their  own  motion,  they 
foresaw  the  condition  of  things  might  easily  become  intol 
erable.  At  the  same  time  an  act  was  passed  legalizing 
the  Writs  of  Assistance.  A  new2  Board  of  Customs  was 
formed,  and  five  commissioners  appointed,  one  of  whom, 
Henry  Hulton,  Esq.,3  arrived  in  Boston  the  following 
November,  and  soon  after  purchased  the  Jeremy  Gridley 
house  in  Brookline  for  a  country  seat.4  The  ministry  had 
expected  that  the  new  regulations  would  meet  with  little 
or  no  opposition,  but  they  mistook  the  people's  spirit.  In 
Newton,  a  vote  was  immediately  passed  for  the  encourage 
ment  of  local  manufacture,  and  it  was  resolved  to  discon 
tinue,  as  far  as  possible,  the  use  of  the  following  imported 
articles:  "Loaf  sugar,  cordage,  anchors,  coaches,  chaises, 
and  carriages  of  all  sorts,  horse  furniture,  men's  and  women's 
hats,  men's  and  women's  apparel  readymade,  household 
furniture,  gloves,  men's  and  women's  shoes,  sole  leather, 
sheathing,  duck,  nails,  gold  and  silver,  and  thread  lace  of 
all  sorts,  gold  and  silver  buttons,  wrought  plate  of  all 
sorts,  diamonds,  stone  and  paste  ware,  snuff,  mustard, 
clocks  and  watches,  silversmiths'  and  jewellers'  ware, 
broadcloths  that  cost  above  ten  shillings  per  yard,  muffs, 
furs,  tippets,  and  all  sorts  of  millinery  ware,  starch,  women's 
and  children's  stays,  fire  engines,  chinaware,  silk  and  cot 
ton,  velvets,  gauze,  pewterer's  hollow  ware,  linseed  oil, 

1  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  142-3,  147.     Botta. 

2  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  286.     Spencer. 

3  American  Revolution,  I,  216-17.     Gordon. 

4  Historical  Sketches  of  Brookline,   293.     Harriet  F.  Woods.     Boston,   1874. 
Published  for  the  author  by  Robert  S.  Davis  and  Company. 


82    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

glue,  lawns,  cambrics,  silks  of  all  kinds  for  garments,  malt 
liquors,  and  cheese."1 

A  letter  written  by  John  Hancock  at  this  juncture  states : 2 
"I  will  sooner  shut  up  my  windows  or  undergo  many  incon 
veniences  before  I  will  Import  a  single  Box  [of  glass]." 
This  practical  way  of  uttering  a  protest  was  systematically 
organized,  other  towns  in  Massachusetts  following  on  the 
lines  marked  for  them  by  Boston  in  October,  until  the  non 
importation  agreement  became  well-nigh  universal.  The 
manner  in  which  the  movement  spread  is  illustrated  in  the 
action  of  a  town  meeting  held  in  the  meeting-house  of  the 
First  Parish  Church  on  Walnut  Street,  in  Brookline,  Isaac 
Gardner  moderator,  where  it  was3  "Voted:  Unanimously 
That  this  Town  will  take  all  prudent  and  Legal  Measures 
to  promote  Industry,  Occonimy  &  Manufactures  in  this 
Province  &  in  any  of  the  British  American  Colonies  and  will 
likewise  take  all  Legal  Measures  to  Discourage  the  Use  of 
European  Superfluities.  Voted  to  choose  Five  Persons 
Viz.  William  Hyslop,  Esq'r.,  Capt.  Benjam.  White,  Isaac 
Gardner,  Esq'r,  Mr.  John  Goddard  and  Mr.  Samuel  Aspin- 
wall  be  a  Committee  to  prepare  a  form  for  Subscription 
against  Receiving  of  those  European  Superfluities  and  make 
Report."  When  it  was,  December  29th,  "Red"  "Voted 
To  Choose  a  Committee  of  Three  Persons,  Viz.  Mr.  Sam'l 
Aspinwall,  Mr.  William  Ackers  and  Mr.  John  Goddard 
to  View  the  Committees  Report  to  the  Freeholders  &  other 
Inhabitants  of  Said  Town  in  order  for  them  to  Signe  if 
they  think  propper." 

Already  sides  were  being  taken  with  some  heat.  Those 
who  did  not  sign  were  marked  men,  and  it  is  said  the  fol 
lowing  notice4  was  affixed  to  the  shop  door  of  a  Boston 
merchant : 

1  History  of  Newton,  322.     S.  F.  Smith,  D.D.     Boston,  1880:  The  American 
Logotype  Company. 

2  John  Hancock  His  Book,  141.     Brown. 

3  Muddy  River    and    Brookline  Records,    1634-1838,   218-19.      1875:  J.   E. 
Farwell  &  Company,  printers. 

4  American  Monthly  Magazine,  228,  February,  1896. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS        83 

"Wm.  Jackson,  an  Importer,  at  the  Brazen  Head,  north 
side  of  the  Town  House  and  opposite  the  Town  Pump,  in 
Cornhill,  Boston.  It  is  desired  that  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  Liberty  will  not  buy  anything  of  him,  for  in  so  doing 
they  will  bring  Disgrace  upon  themselves  and  their  Pos 
terity  forever,  and  ever,  Amen." 

A  certain  Mr.  Mac[Masters]  about  the  same  time  brought 
himself  into  prominence  by  stubbornly  withholding  his 
signature,  and  was  referred  to  by  name  at  a  stirring  non 
importation  meeting.  Some  two  thousand  men  were  pres 
ent  and  harsh  measures  were  threatened  when  Sam  Adams 
quietly  proposed  1  they  should  resolve  themselves  into  a 
committee  of  the  whole  house  to  wait  on  the  gentleman 
and  urge  compliance  and  in  the  meanwhile  proceed  with 
their  business.  Suddenly  a  little  figure  in  a  reddish  smoke- 
dried  wig  popped  up  from  a  corner  and  piped  out  with  a 
strong  Scotch  accent,  "Mr.  Moderator,  I  agree!  I  agree!" 
This  timely  interruption  was  received  with  thunders  of 
applause  and  the  merchant  was  restored  at  once  to  favor. 

The  commissioners  found  their  position  anything  but 
easy,  as  may  be  inferred  by  the  following  letter2  from  Mr. 
Bollan  to  Hutchinson: 

HENRIETTA  STREET,  August  11,  1767. 
Mr.  Paxton  has  several  times  told  me,  that  you  and 
some  other  of  my  friends  were  of  opinion,  that  standing 
troops  were  necessary  to  support  the  authority  of  the  gov 
ernment  at  Boston,  and  that  he  was  authorized  to  inform 
me  this  was  your  and  their  opinion.  I  need  not  say  that 
I  hold  in  the  greatest  abomination  such  outrages  that  have 
taken  place  among  you,  .  .  .  yet  we  must  remember  how 
often  standing  forces  have  introduced  greater  mischief  than 
they  retrieved. 

He  then  adds,  he  recently  informed  an  influential  gentle- 

1  Samuel  Adams,   The    Patriot    Series,  96.      Samuel    Fallows,  D.D.,  L.L.D. 
Chicago,  1898:  The  University  Association. 

2  Annals  of  the  Revolution,  167.     Morse. 


84    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

man  in  England  that  he  had  the  highest  reason  to  believe 
that  whoever  should  be  instrumental  in  sending  over  stand 
ing  troops  to  America  would  be  cursed  to  all  posterity. 

The  commissioners,  directly  they  arrived,  made  common 
cause  with  the  Governor,  even,  it  is  said,  to  the  length  of 
discharging  an  under  officer,  Captain  Timothy  Folgier,1 
whose  vote  in  the  House  was  "contrary  to  their  mind." 
The  press  was  busy  at  this  time.  Jonathan  Sewall  wrote 
on  the  Government  side  under  the  name  of  Philalethes, 
and  was  made2  sole  Judge  of  Admiralty  in  reward  by  Ber 
nard.  The  "Letters  from  a  Farmer,"  by  John  Dickinson 
of  Pennsylvania,  of  the  opposite  party,  brought  out  during 
the  summer,  made  a  great  stir  and  were  republished  in 
Paris.3  The  French  from  the  outset  had  kept  a  keen  watch 
on  the  growing  friction,  and  now4  the  chief  minister,  Choi- 
seul,  sent  Baron  De  Kalb  over  to  inform  himself  as  to  the 
Colonists'  earnestness  and  resources  with  the  intention  of 
lending  aid  by  and  by  should  a  fit  time  offer.  Early  in 
1768,  Franklin  wrote  a  letter  on  "The  Causes  of  the  Ameri 
can  Discontents,"  in  which  he  observes:5  "Scotland  has 
had  its  rebellions,  and  England  its  plots  against  the  pres 
ent  royal  family,  but  America  is  untainted,"  and  then 
complains,  "a  new  kind  of  loyalty  seems  to  be  required  of 
us,  a  loyalty  to  Parliament."  London  was  thrown  in  a 
tumult  about  this  time  by  Wilkes  standing  an  election  for 
Westminster.  This  attempt  was  unsuccessful,  but  with 
the  aid  of  Parson  John  Home  (Horne-Tooke),  vicar  of  the 
shire  town  Brentford,  he  was  returned  at  the  top  of  the 
polls  for  Middlesex;  and  before  Parliament  assembled,  upon 
his  voluntary  surrender,  had  the  former  sentence  of  banish 
ment  commuted  to  two  years  in  the  King's  Bench  prison 
and  a  heavy  fine.6 

1  The  London  Magazine  or  Gentleman's  Monthly  Intelligencer,  249.    May,  1770. 

2  Annals  of  the  Revolution,  144.     Morse. 

3  Our  Country,  I,  636-7.     Lossing. 

4  Ibid.  635-6. 

6  Annals  of  the  Revolution,  194-5.     Morse. 
6  Caricature  History,  309-312.     Wright. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS        85 

The  Massachusetts  Legislature  during  December  drew 
up  a  letter  to  their  London  agent  reiterating  their  equality 
with  their  fellow  subjects  in  Great  Britain  and  their  right 
to  local  self-government.  They  next  addressed  a  circular 
letter,  signed  by  the  Speaker,  to  the  other  Colonies,  stating 
the  ground  they  had  taken  and  suggesting  that  the  various 
protests  would  meet  with  surer  success  if  a  similar  tone 
was  taken  by  each  in  turn;1  a  copy  of  this  letter  was  then 
laid  before  the  Governor,  who  forbade  further  proceedings. 
The  New  York  Assembly  meanwhile  signified  its  readiness 
to  adopt  the  views  expressed  by  the  Massachusetts  members, 
and  after  a  dark  night  people  woke  to  find  hand-bills  posted 
right  and  left  which  read:2  "Let  these  truths  be  indelibly 
impressed  on  our  minds,  that  we  cannot  be  free  without 
being  secure  in  our  property;  that  we  cannot  be  secure  in 
our  property  if  without  our  consent,  others  may,  as  by 
right,  take  it  away;  that  taxes  imposed  by  Parliament  do 
thus  take  it  away;  that  duties  laid  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
raising  money  are  taxes;  that  attempts  to  lay  such,  should 
be  instantly  and  firmly  opposed."  Already,  in  Boston 
trouble  was  brewing  between  the  customs  officers  and 
the  townsmen.  A  slanting  old  gravestone  on  Copps  Hill 
bears  the  inscription : 3 

"Here  lies  buried,  in  a  A  true  son  of  Liberty, 

stone  grave  ten  feet  deep,  A  friend  to  the  Publick, 

Captain  Daniel  Malcom,  mercht.  An  enemy  to  Oppression; 

who  departed  this  life  And  one  of  the  foremost 

October  23,  1769,  In  opposing  the  Revenue  Acts 

aged  44  years.  in  America." 

Governor  Bernard  refers  to  him,  in  a  letter  to  Lord 
Shelburne  (March,  1768),  as  already  "notorious"  for  the 
searching  of  his  house,  eighteen  months  before,  for  uncus 
tomed  goods.  Expecting  a  schooner  the  past  month  to 

1  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  288.     Spencer. 

2  Our  Country,  I,  650.     Lossing. 

3  "  Ye  Ancient  Burial  Grounds  of  Boston."     Albert  Scott  Cox.     New  England 
Magazine,  January,  1893. 


86    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

arrive  with  Fayal  wine  aboard,  he  took  occasion  to  ask  an 
officer  of  the  customs  what  "indulgence  he  might  expect 
as  to  duties;"  being  answered  "none,"  he  replied  "he  was 
glad  to  know  what  he  had  to  trust  to."  Some  days  later 
the  schooner  anchored  five  miles  out,  among  the  islands  in 
the  harbor,  and  from  there  sixty  pipes  of  wine  were  landed 
and  under  cover  of  night  taken  by  drays  to  different  cellars, 
guarded  by  men  with  clubs.  When  the  schooner  came 
up,  the  sea-marks  showed  plainly  she  had  been  lightened, 
but  Malcolm  swore  she  came  from  Surinam  in  ballast.1 

Two  or  three  days  later,  Malcolm  and  others  called  a 
meeting  for  March  4th,  when  many  of  the  Boston  mer 
chants  "agreed  for  one  year  to  send  for  no  European  com- 
moditys  excepting  salt,  coals,  fishing  lines,  fish  hooks, 
hemp,  duck,  bar  lead,  shot,  wool  cards,  and  card  wire."2 
And  further,  that  in  all  occasions  for  trade,  preference  should 
be  shown  to  their  fellow  subscribers.  This  same  March 
4th,  the  night  was  disturbed  by  a  little  mob  of  one  hundred 
lads  with  drums  and  horns  passing  the  Town-house  while 
the  Governor1  was  in  the  Council  Chamber,  and  afterward 
gathering  before  Commissioner  Paxton's  with  a  huzza.  A 
few  days  later,  some  sixty  lusty  fellows  are  said  to  have 
beset  Burch's  house,  causing  his  wife  and  children  to  escape 1 
by  the  back  way;  the  noise  was  kept  up  all  night  but  treated 
as  trivial  by  the  townspeople.  The  commissioners,  however, 
were  by  no  means  reassured,  understanding  that  personal 
threats  had  been  made  against  the  Board.  On  the  anniver 
sary  of  the  repeal,  March  18th,  the  sheriff  brought  word 
that  Paxton  and  Williams,  the  inspector-general,  had  both 
been  hung  in  effigy  from  the  Liberty  Tree,  but  cut  down 
by  the  neighbors.  The  Governor  thereupon  reproached 
the  Council,  who  showed  small  concern  and  continued 
unmoved  by  a  letter  from  the  commissioners1  manifesting 
much  alarm.  The  day,  meanwhile,  was  celebrated  in  an 
orderly  manner,  by  bells  ringing  at  dawn,  flags  flying  on 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  110,  111-12,  112-14.     Higgins. 

2  Diary.     Rowe. 


CHARLES  PAXTON 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS        87 

the  shipping,  and  dinners  at  two  of  the  taverns,  where  toasts 1 
were  drunk  to  "Paoli  and  the  Corsicans,"  "The  Freedom 
of  the  Press,"  "The  joint  freedom  of  America  and  Ireland," 
and  "The  immortal  memory  of  Brutus,  Cassius,  Hampden, 
and  Sydney."  Owing  to  the  selectmen's  efforts,  no  serious 
outbreak  marred  the  day.  The  dinners  broke  up  early 
and  many  gentlemen  kept  about  one  of  the  coffee  houses 
and  succeeded  in  preventing  the  lighting  of  a  bonfire  in 
King  Street,1  although  the  crowd  continued  roaming  the 
streets,  making  yells  and  outcries  which  were  "quite  ter 
rible."  Mr.  Burch,  with  his  wife  and  children,  was  at  the 
Province-house,  having  taken  shelter  with  the  Governor 
the  previous  day.  Lieutenant-Go vernor  Hutchinson  and 
the  sheriff  were  also  of  the  party.  No  steps  had  been 
taken  to  fortify  the  house,  but  one  terrifying  yell 
from  the  mob  going  by  made  the  Governor  "apprehend 
they  were  breaking  in,  but  it  was  not  so."  Mrs.  Burch 
was  quite  overcome  with  dread,  and  felt  the  ill-effects 
for  days.  The  crowd,  moving  along,  next  stood 
whooping  before  Williams'  door,  who  went  to  the  window 
and  said  he  was  prepared  for  them,  upon  which  they 
moved  on;  twice  they  paraded  by  Paxton's  with  outcries 
calculated  to  terrify  the  inmates.  Altogether  it  was 
a  frightful  night  to  the  Tory  faction,  but  the  whole 
was  lightly  dismissed  by  the  townspeople  as  revelry  and 
rejoicings  natural  to  the  day.  Julia  Bernard,  then  eight, 
tells1  of  the  crowd  filling  the  court  before  the  Province- 
house  and  demanding  Burch,  and,  on  her  father's  positive 
refusal  to  give  him  up,  their  threatening  to  break  in;  but 
after  an  interval  of  terror  it  appears  they  were  left  alone, 
when  she  and  her  sister  were  hurriedly  removed  to  a  friend's 
house,  where  they  stopped  some  days.  A  wild  legend  seems 
to  have  grown  up  out  of  this  distressing  period  that  in 
confronting  a  mob  and  declining  to  disclose  her  husband's 
whereabouts,  Mrs.  Bernard  was  deprived  of  her  ears,  ever 
after  wearing  her  hair  draped  low  to  conceal  their  loss!  A 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  114,  8G.     Iliggins. 


88    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

descendant,  who  has  lately  published  an  interesting  account 
of  the  Bernard  family,  never  doubted  the  story  as  a  child, 
but  now  thinks  it  a  little  "odd"  it  should  be  unsupported 
by  any  evidence  whatever. 

At  the  ensuing  spring  elections  feeling  ran  so  high  Cap 
tain  John  Hancock  of  the  Cadets,  understanding  that  the 
commissioners  dined  that  day  with  the  Governor,  declined 1 
to  order  his  men  out.  Owing  to  the  disturbed  conditions,1 
toward  the  end  of  the  month  the  Romney,  man-o'-war, 
fifty  guns,  Captain  John  Corner  commander,  arrived  at 
Nantasket  and,  encouraged  very  likely  by  her  presence,  the 
customs  officers  determined  upon  making  an  example  of 
the  next  evader  of  duty. 

Early  in  the  previous  November,  Hancock  had  written 
to  his  correspondents,  Messrs.  Hill,  Lamar  &  Bissett,  to 
forward  by  his  sloop  Liberty2  "Four  pipes  of  the  very  best 
Madeira  Wine  that  you  can  possibly  procure  for  my  own 
table.  I  don't  stand  for  price,  If  it  be  good,  I  like  a  Rich 
wine.  &  if  you  can  ship  a  Pipe  of  Right  Sterling  old  Ma 
deira,  Pale  &  good,  you  will  add  it.  I  like  pale  wine,  but 
I  need  say  no  more  than  that  they  are  for  my  own  use,  & 
I  beg  that  they  may  be  the  very  best  that  can  be  purchased. 
Mark  them  I  *  H.  I  pray  distinguish  them  from  any  other 
on  board,  by  some  private  mark,  acquainting  me  thereof  in 
your  letter.  I  am  also  to  desire  you  will  please  to  ship  me 
by  the  same  vessel  six  pipes  of  good  salable  Madeira  wine 
for  our  market.  I  would  have  them  good  &  such  as  will 
answer  for  our  Public  houses  here,  where  the  best  company 
resorts,  these  you  will  mark  HK,  and  do  let  them  be  good, 
of  their  kind.  .  .  .  You  will  also  ship  by  my  sloop  Two 
pipes  more  of  the  best  Madeira,  consigned  to  me,  in  separate 
Memo.  &  Bill  of  Invoice  Mark  them  to  H.  G.  T.  They 
are  for  the  Treasurer  of  our  Province  &  you  will  please  to 
let  them  be  good."  On  the  10th  of  June  the  Liberty3  came 
up  the  harbor,  about  sunset,  with  the  long  expected  cargo 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abinyton,  II,  115.     Higgins. 

2  John  Hancock  His  Book,  149.     Brown. 

3  Antiquities,  735.     Drake. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS        89 

and  made  fast  at  Hancock's  wharf,  opposite  the  foot  of 
Fleet  Street.  The  north  side  of  Lewis'  wharf  now  covers 
its  site.  Here  she  was  boarded  by  the  tide  waiter,  Thomas 
Kirk,  acting  for  the  commissioners  of  customs,  and  by 
Captain  James  Marshall,  one  of  Hancock's  skippers,  a 
young  man  of  thirty- two,  and  half  a  dozen  of  his  friends. 
Crowding  into  the  cabin,  they  all  fell  to  drinking  punch 
with  the  master  of  the  ship,  Captain  Nat  Barnard.  About 
nine  o'clock  Captain  Marshall  asked  Kirk  if  he  objected 
to  a  few  casks  being  set  ashore  that  evening.  "Not  by  my 
lieve,"  replied  Kirk,  and  was  straightway  "hove  down  the 
companion"  into  the  cabin  and  the  cover  secured.  He 
broke  through  a  door  into  the  steerage,  but  was  driven  back 
and  held  close  prisoner  three  hours  longer.  There  was 
great  trampling  on  deck  meanwhile  and  a  noise  of  tackle. 
At  last,  when  all  was  quiet  once  more,  Kirk  was  called  out, 
told  to  hold  his  tongue  or  he'd  be  sorry,  and  dismissed. 
Great  would  have  been  the  rejoicing  over  this  exploit  but 
for  the  untimely  loss  of  young  Marshall,  who  died  before 
morning  from  over-exertion  and  excitement.  Next  day 
Barnard  returned  a  short1  entry  at  the  Customs.  His 
statement  was  very  naturally  discredited  and  the  officials, 
bent  on  making  an  example,  caught  at  the  opportunity  to 
claim  the  Liberty,  valued  by  Hancock  at  £1000,  as  forfeit 
for  evading  the  law.  Accordingly  the  return  cargo  of  oil 
was  only  partly  in  when  a  group  of  high  officials  appeared 
on  the  dock.  This  was  between  six  and  seven  on  the  even 
ing  of  the  llth.  The  Collector,  Harrison,  felt  rather 
nervous  at  the  thought  of  proceeding  to  extremities  at  an 
hour  when  so  many  sympathizing  work-people  were  abroad 
going  to  their  homes,  and  considered  it  would  be  quite 
sufficient  to  brand  the  sloop  with  the  broad  arrow2  as 
Government  property,  and  leave  her  for  the  night.  The 
Comptroller  was  of  another  mind,  and  thought  the  only  safe 
way  of  securing  the  sloop  was  to  place  her  in  the  safekeeping 
of  the  Romney.  While  this  was  under  discussion  a  mob  of 

1  American  Revolution,  231.     Gordon.  2  Antiquities,  735.     Drake. 


90    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

boys  and  idlers  rallied  about  Malcolm,  and  no  sooner  had 
the  signal  been  made  to  the  man-o'-war  than  an  angry 
scene1  followed.  "You  had  better  let  the  vessel  be  at  the 
wharf,"  protested  Malcolm,  as  the  armed  boats  drew  near. 
"I  shall  not,"  cried  Hallo  well;  "cut  the  fasts!"  None  of 
the  wharf  hands  came  forward;  on  the  contrary,  several 
made  the  appeal,  "Stop  at  least  till  the  owner  comes." 
"No,  d—  you,"  blustered  Hallowell;  "cast  her  off."  The 
master  of  the  Romney,  losing  his  temper,  shouted,  "I'll 
split  out  the  brain  of  any  man  that  offers  to  receive  a  fast 
or  stop  the  vessel.  Marines,  fire!"  One  of  the  people  on 
the  wharf,  looking  sharply  at  the  boats,  exclaimed,  "What 
rascal  is  that  who  dares  to  tell  the  marines  to  fire?"  He  then 
turned  to  Harrison  and  added  soberly:  "The  owner  is  sent 
for.  You  had  better  let  her  lie  at  the  wharf  till  he  comes 
down."  But  Hallowell  would  not  suffer  temperate  coun 
sels  and  retorted:  "No,  she  shall  go.  Show  me  the  man 
who  dares  oppose  it."  To  which  the  Romney's  captain 
responded,  "Aye,  kill  the  d — n  scoundrel!"  The  crowd 
hung  back,  irresolute  and  awed.  Malcolm's  threat,  "We 
will  throw  the  people  of  the  Romney  overboard,"  was  of 
no  avail.1  Shorn  of  her  mast,  the  sloop  was  speedily  taken 
in  tow  and  with  each  sweep  of  the  oars  borne  further  from 
her  friends.  With  the  departure  of  the  marines  the  wrath 
of  the  mob  was  visited  on  the  imposing  little  band  of  offi 
cials.  A  brick  hit  Harrison2  in  the  breast,  but  keeping 
his  feet,  he  escaped  down  an  alley.  However,  it  sent  him 
to  bed  for  a  time;  his  son,  Richard  Acklom  Harrison,  doubt 
less  made  a  spirited  defence,  for  he  was  thrown  and  dragged 
by  the  hair.  Mr.  Hallowell  was  left  on  the  ground  bleed 
ing  and  subsequently  confined  to  the  house,  likewise,  from 
the  bruises  he  received;  while  the  inspector  of  exports  and 
imports,  Irving,  had  his  sword  broken  and  only  escaped, 
through  the  connivance  of  two  of  the  mob,  by  running  into 
a  house  near  by.  Late  in  the  evening,  John  Williams, 

1  Our  Country,  I,  644.     Lossing. 

2  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  118.      Higgins. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS        91 

Inspector-General,  had  one  hundred  panes  of  glass  broken, 
the  mob  only  stopping  when  Mrs.  Williams  said  her  hus 
band  was  gone  away  on  a  journey  and  she  was  alone.1 

They  next  proceeded  to  break  Comptroller  Hallowell's 
windows,  but  stopped  on  being  told  he  was  almost  killed 
and  had  been  taken  elsewhere.1  Then,  since2  no  man-o'- 
war's  boat  came  to  hand,  a  beautifully  appointed  pleasure- 
boat  belonging  to  Harrison  was  dragged  to  the  Common 
and  burnt.  Soon  after  this  last  demonstration,  toward 
midnight,  Sam  Adams,  Warren,  and  Hancock  succeeded 
in  inducing  the  rabble,  by  this  time  inflamed  with  rum 
and  numbering  above  five  hundred,  to  disperse.  It  is 
interesting3  to  recall  that  the  Collector,  Harrison,  was  a 
brother  of  Peter,  the  architect  of  King's  Chapel,  Christ 
Church,  Cambridge,  and  Redwood  Library,  Newport. 
At  this  time  Governor  Bernard  had  retired  to  his  country 
seat  on  Pond  Street  (east  of  May  Street),  at  Jamaica  Plain. 
Here  he  was  waited  upon  a  few  days  later  by  a  committee 
of  twenty-one  gentlemen,  who  drove  out  in  eleven  chaises1 
to  request  that  the  Romney  be  removed.  The  Government 
party  entertained  quite  different  views.  On  the  llth,  the 
commissioners  and  the  Governor  dined  with  Paxton.  The 
next  day,  Sunday,  two  of  them,  Mr.  Burch  and  Mr.  Hulton, 
with  their  families  took  shelter  on  the  Romney,  where 
they  were  joined  by  Mr.  Robinson  and  Paxton  on  Mon 
day.  Temple  about  this  time  withdrew1  from  his  fellow 
commissioners.  Even  when  they  were  subsequently  trans 
ferred  to  the  Castle  their  constant  cry  was  that  the  Romney 
might  anchor  near  at  hand,  and,  lest  their  retreat  should 
seem  precipitate,  letters  were  scattered  far  and  wide  l  to 
the  Governor,  to  Commodore  Hood,  to  Gage,  and  Colonel 
Dairy mple,  and,  finally,  to  the  Lord  Commissioners  of  the 
Treasury,  complaining  of  the  temper  of  the  town  and  the 
need  of  troops,  since  they  would  find  quarters  at  the  Castle 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  118,  119,  135.     Higgins. 

2  History  of  Boston,  271.     Snow. 

1  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  IV,  469. 


92    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

too  bleak  for  their  comfort  after  frost  set  in.  Unfortunately 
ill-feeling  had  been  intensified  by  the  presence  of  a  press 
gang  aboard  the  Romney,  and,  in  direct  violation  of  the 
act *  (6th  Anne)  forbidding  impressment  of  American  sea 
men,  several  were  now  seized,  one  being  subsequently  set 
free.  The  day  following  Nat  Waterman  went  aboard  to 
procure  the  release  of  another  and  offer  a  substitute;  Cap 
tain  Corner  not  only  refused,  but  swore  2  it  was  a  black 
guard  town  ruled  by  mobs  and  he'd  make  the  people's 
hearts  ache  before  he  left.  This  last  seaman  appears  to 
have  been  rescued  by  his  mates  and  the  very  same  evening 
came  the  struggle  over  the  Liberty,  leaving  naturally  each 
side  sorer  than  ever. 

We  have  a  fuller  account  of  the  Romney  incident  and 
subsequent  events  in  the  following  letter:3 

JOSHUA  HENSHAW,  JR.,  TO  WILLIAM  HENSHAW 
OF  LEICESTER 

BOSTON,  June  15,  1768. 
COUZ.N  WILLIAM 

Before  this  it  is  probable  you  have  heard  some  imper 
fect  Account  of  our  late  Greivances,  I  mean  with  Respect 
to  the  Treatment  the  Town  and  all  trading  with  it 
have  met  with  from  the  Man  of  War,  but  especially 
with  Respect  to  the  Seizure  of  a  Sloop  belonging  to  Mr. 
Hancock,  though  this  may  be  the  Case  a  concise  Narra 
tion  of  Facts  will  not  be  disagreeable  I  presume.  John 
Hancock  Esqr.  having  a  Sloop  at  his  Wharf  out  of  Use  and 
his  Stores  being  full  thought  he  might  do  as  has  been  the 
common  Practice,  i.e.  make  a  Storehouse  of  his  Sloop, 
accordingly  he  put  a  Number  of  Cask  of  Oil  in  her,  intend 
ing  as  soon  as  his  Ship  was  ready  to  receive  them  that  they 
should  be  removed  into  her.  But  it  seems  the  Intention  of 
some  was  very  different,  for  last  Friday  about  the  Sun's 

1  History   of  the  U.  S.,  I,  290,     Spencer. 

2  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  120,  168.     Higgins. 

3  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  October,  1868. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS        93 

setting  Mr.  Hallowell  and  Mr.  Harrison's  Son,  was  on 
Mr.  Hancock's  Wharf,  when  the  Man  of  War  sent  her  boat 
off  to  the  Sloop  with  the  Leuitenant  and  four  men,  armed 
in  order  to  take  Possession  after  she  was  seized.  Cap.t 
Malcomb  and  another  man  was  upon  the  Wharf,  who  had 
some  high  Words  with  them  (as  I  hear),  but  it  soon  appeared 
that  they  were  not  sufficient:  two  other  Boats  with  Marines 
were  dispatched  to  assist  them.  The  People  belonging  to 
that  Part  of  the  Town  began  to  assemble,  and  with  Stones 
they  defended  her  so  long  as  the  Fasts  were  cut  seven  Times, 
and  then  she  was  taken  and  carried  along  Side  the  Man  of 
War.  This  incensed  the  People,  they  immediately  turned 
upon  Mr.  Hallowell  and  young  Mr.  Harrison  and  pushed 
them  about  the  Wharf  for  some  Time.  It  is  said  that 
young  Harrison  would  not  have  been  so  treated  had  it  not 
been  for  Mr.  Hallowell,  who  endeavoured  to  put  it  off 
upon  him.  The  People  quitted  them  and  proceeded  (col 
lecting  as  they  went)  to  the  Long  Wharf,  and  there  met  with 
Mr.  Irvine,  one  of  the  Under  Officers,  he  imprudently 
used  some  harsh  Language  and  threatened, .  drawing  his 
Sword  upon  the  first  man  that  touched  him,  upon  which 
they  seized  and  made  him  repent  of  his  Expression.  They 
searched  the  British  Coffee  House  for  the  Officers  of  the 
Man  of  War,  but  found  none;  then  went  to  Mr.  Hallo  well's, 
Mr.  Harrison's  and  Inspector  Williams'  Houses,  and  broke 
a  few  Squares  of  Glass  in  each;  then  to  Oliver's  Dock  and 
took  Mr.  Harrison's  Pleasure-Boat,  drawed  it  up  King  street 
and  through  the  main  Street  to  Liberty  Tree;  up  Frog  Lane 
and  into  the  Common,  and  there  consumed  her.  While 
it  was  burning  Mr.  Tisdale  from  Taunton  was  observed  to 
look  (as  I  am  informed)  a  number  of  People  in  the  Face, 
as  they  supposed  to  make  some  Discovery,  his  Hat  and 
Wig  soon  went  off,  and  he  was  kicked  out  of  the  Common. 
Here  ended  that  Evening's  Doings.  The  Council  and 
House  have  the  whole  Affair  under  Consideration.  The 
Sons  of  Liberty  had  a  meeting  Yesterday  in  the  Forenoon 
at  Liberty-Hall,  where  some  of  the  Selectmen  and  many 


94    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

respectable  Inhabitants  were  present.  The  Room  being 
too  small,  they  thought  it  best  to  adjourn  immediately  to 
Faneuil  Hall,  very  soon  after  they  had  reached  there  it  was 
proposed  that  that  meeting  should  be  dissolved,  and  a 
Notification  come  out  for  a  Town  Meeting  at  3  O' Clock 
P.M.,  which  was  done.  At  the  Time  appointed,  the  Town 
being  legally  assembled  and  Mr.  Otis  being  elected  Moder 
ator,  he  moved  as  the  Hall  was  so  crouded  and  there  were 
many  that  could  not  get  in  that  they  would  adjourn  to  the 
Old  South  Meeting  House.  The  Old  South  was  pretty 
well  filled  (though  many  were  not  Inhabitants) .  After  the 
Moderator  from  the  Pulpit  had  informed  them  that  this 
meeting  was  upon  an  Affair  perhaps  of  the  greatest  Im 
portance,  as  not  only  the  Interest  of  this  Province  and  of 
the  Continent,  but  even  of  Great  Britain  itself  might  be 
involved  in  it.  The  Warrant  was  previously  read,  the 
Substance  of  which  was  that  the  Town  should  endeavor 
to  keep  Peace  and  Order,  and  to  consider  of  some  method 
to  secure  our  Liberty,  which  was  invaded  by  an  armed 
Vessell  laying  directly  before  the  Town,  and  appearing  in 
a  very  hostile  Manner,  and  had  illegally  taken  away  a 
Sloop  belonging  to  John  Hancock,  Esqr.,  upon  which  a 
Petition  to  his  Excellency  being  read  desiring  him  to  issue 
forthwith  an  Order,  requiring  his  Majesty's  Ship  Romney  to 
depart  this  Harbour,  till  we  hear  the  Success  of  our  Petition 
to  the  King,  &c.  The  Town  voted  to  present  it  immedi 
ately,  and  appointed  a  respectable  Committee  of  twenty- 
one  for  that  Purpose,  among  whom  were  the  Moderator, 
Royal  Tyler  Esqr.,  Thos.  Cushing  Esqr.,  the  Selectmen, 
&c.  his  Excellency  being  at  his  Seat  in  Roxbury,  the  Com 
mittee  upon  the  Adjournment  of  the  meeting  (which  was 
immediately),  met  at  Mr.  Hancock's  House,  from  whence 
they  proceeded  regularly  through  the  Town  to  Roxbury, 
Mr.  Hancock  in  his  Phaeton  with  the  Moderator  led  the 
Van.  They  made  a  splendid  appearance.  The  Report 
of  the  Committee  this  Afternoon  at  the  Adjournment  was 
that  his  Excellency  said  he  had  no  Power  to  order  the 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS        95 

Romney  away,  but  that  he  was  sensible  of  the  Inconven 
ience  the  Town  laboured  under  by  Coasters  being  impressed, 
and  that  he  would  converse  with  Cap.t  Corner  upon  the 
Subject,  and  did  not  doubt  but  there  would  be  an  End  put 
to  that  Difficulty.  [He  then l  passed  about  wine,  which  was 
well  taken.]  The  Town  after  accepting  the  Report  of  their 
Committee  to  write  the  State  of  the  Affair  to  Mr.  Debert, 
adjourned  to  Friday,  4  O'Clock,  P.M.  Then  they  will 
know  the  Success  of  the  Governour's  Conference  with  Cap.t 
Corner.  The  Commissioners  (excepting  Mr.  Temple)  with 
their  Under-Officers  upon  this  little  Difficulty,  repaired 
on  board  the  Romney,  and  I  believe  will  be  obliged  to 
remain  there,  as  it  seems  to  be  the  mind  of  the  People 
that  they  have  lived  long  enough  in  this  Town.  After 
such  Brevity  I  may  be  justified  in  subscribing  myself  yr 
sincere  Friend, 

ANONYMOUS. 
MR.  WILLIAM  HENSHAW. 

FROM  THE  SAME  TO  THE  SAME2 

BOSTON,  June  22,  1768. 
COUZ.N  WILLIAM 

As  this  will  be  in  some  measure  a  Continuation  of  my 
last  Letter  I  shall  begin  with  the  Success  of  the  Governour's 
and  a  Committee  of  the  Council's  Conference  with  Cap.t 
Corner  as  related  to  the  Town  by  Royal  Tyler  Esq.r,  one 
of  sd  Committee.  Upon  their  Arrival  on  Board  they  were 
conducted  into  the  Captain's  Room,  where  were  no  disagree 
able  Objects,  and  they  would  not  have  seen  any  had  not  they 
inclined  to  veiw  the  Ship  after  they  had  compleated  their 
Business.  In  their  Walks  amongst  the  Dens  and  Caverns 
of  the  Ship  (to  use  Mr.  Tyler's  Words)  they  beheld  them. 
They  conversed  with  Cap.t  Corner  very  freely  upon  all 
Parts  of  his  Conduct,  he  treated  them  very  politely  and 
cleared  up  his  own  Character  to  their  and  to  the  Satisfac- 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  122.     Higgins. 

2  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  October,  1869. 


96    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

tion  of  the  Town.  He  said  true  it  was  that  he  must  be 
answerable  for  the  Conduct  of  all  his  Officers;  that  there 
had  been  one  man  impressed  contrary  to  his  orders,  .  .  . 
that  he  had  wrote  also  for  the  man  to  be  sent  up  from 
Halifax  upon  his  own  Charge  to  be  delivered  up;  that  with 
Respect  to  taking  Mr.  Hancock's  Sloop,  he  had  his  Orders 
from  the  Revenue  Officers  and  shewed  the  Committee  the 
Acts  of  Parliament  that  obliged  him  to  obey  their  Orders, 
a  Disobedience  of  which  would  have  taken  away  his  dayly 
Bread  by  the  Loss  of  his  Ship,  and  this  not  the  only  Damage, 
it  would  have  subjected  him  to  a  very  large  Fine;  that  if 
Mr.  Hancock  in  a  Course  of  Law  obtained  the  Vessell  he 
would  politely  send  her  to  him,  but  if  she  became  the  Prop 
erty  of  the  Revenue  Officers  he  hoped  they  would  send 
for  her.  However,  the  People  may  approve  of  the  Con 
duct  of  Cap.t  Corner,  yet  they  can't  relish  the  Thing,  an 
armed  Force  to  fright  us  out  of  our  Privileges.  Cap.t 
Hallowell,  who  amongst  the  Rest  repaired  on  Board  the 
Romney  did  yesterday  set  off  for  London  in  Cap.t  Britt, 
and  may  content  himself  never  to  return  again.  Col. 
Brattle  who  was  of  the  Committee  upon  Mr.  Hallowell's 
telling  him  that  he  intended  to  come  on  Shore  upon  a  par 
ticular  Day,  said  you  had  better  not  then  nor  at  all,  when 
ever  you  do  you  may  expect  a  certain  fearful  looking  for 
of  Judgement  and  fiery  Indignation  to  devour  you,  you  must 
be  content  as  the  Children  of  Israel  were  of  old  to  behold 
the  pleasant  Land  afar  off.  The  Commissioners  and  their 
Underlings  I  conclude  intend  to  behold  it  at  a  Distance  or 
not  at  all,  for  they  have  not  appeared  in  Town  since.  .  .  . 

ANONYMOUS. 

Thoroughly  aroused,  Boston  fairly  buzzed  with  meetings, 
and  the  townspeople  did  not  hesitate  l  to  place  on  record 
their  "unalterable  resolution  to  vindicate  invaluable  rights 
at  the  hazard  of  fortune  and  life."  The  Assembly  in  its 
protest  to  the  Governor  respecting  the  Romney 's  unlawful 

1  Antiquities,  741.     Drake. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS        97 

impressment  of  citizens  was  equally  bold,  asserting: J  "To 
contend  against  our  parent  state,  is,  in  our  idea,  the  most 
shocking  and  dreadful  extremity;  but,  tamely  to  relinquish 
the  only  security  we  and  our  posterity  retain  for  the  enjoy 
ment  of  our  lives  and  properties  without  one  struggle,  is 
so  humiliating  and  base,  that  we  can  not  support  the  reflec 
tion."  To  this  date  belong  Otis'  fiery  words: 2  "If  we  are 
called  on  to  defend  our  liberties  and  privileges,  I  hope  and 
believe  we  shall  one  and  all  resist  unto  blood,  but  I  pray 
God  Almighty  this  may  never  happen." 

This  same  month  Sir  Henry  Moore,  Governor  of  New 
York,  desired  the  Assembly  to  make  provision  for  the  troops 
as  required  by  the  new  act.  Conceiving  this  to  be  merely 
another  form  of  levying  a  tax  without  their  consent,3  the 
members  flatly  refused  to  comply  and  the  House  was  at 
once  dissolved.  When  the  news  of  this  came  to  the  ears 
of  the  ministry,  Ex-Governor  Pownall 3  strove  in  vain  to 
have  temperate  counsels  prevail.  Shelburne,  the  Secre 
tary  of  State,  would  gladly  have  conciliated  the  Colonies, 
but  was  obnoxious  to  his  associates  in  office  —  Sandwich 
and  Rigby  —  since  he  could  neither  be  hoodwinked  nor 
bought;  and  in  their  determination  to  keep  a  grip  on  office 
at  all  hazards,  they  did  not  rest  until  the  Cabinet  was 
pledged  to  use  force.  General  Con  way  resigned ;  Pitt,  phys 
ically  unable  to  keep  his  place,  had  already  been  relieved; 
Shelburne  withdrew  in  his  wake;  and  Bedford's  following  — 
Lords  Gower  and  Weymouth,  the  so-called  "Bloomsbury 
crew"  -with  Graf  ton  as  Premier  at  their  head  and  Rigby 
for  "boatswain,"  became4  supreme. 

Having  with  great  assurance  decided  that  the  New 
York  Assembly  should  be  suspended  from  its  functions 
until  ready  to  obey  orders,5  the  ministry  next  turned  its 
attention  to  the  temerity  of  Massachusetts  in  venturing 

1  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  290.     Spencer. 

2  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  III,  24. 

3  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Ill,  352-3.     Bryant  and  Gay. 

4  Charles  Fox,  131-2,  135,  122.     Trevelyan. 

5  History  of  America,  521.     Goodrich. 


98    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

to  send  out  the  Circular  Letter  regarding  non-importation. 
"A  flagitious  attempt,"  1  vowed  the  new  Colonial  Secre 
tary,  Lord  Hillsborough,  "to  disturb  the  public  peace," 
and  with  one  consent  it  was  resolved  that  the  letter  must 
be  rescinded  without  delay.  Governor  Bernard,  assured 
of  protection  and  advancement,  loftily  announced  their 
demands  to  the  Legislature  and  withdrew.2 

"Who  are  these  ministers?"  cried3  Otis  scornfully  in 
debate;  "the  very  frippery  and  foppery  of  France,  the  out- 
sides  of  monkeys."  For  nine  days  the  matter  was  under 
consideration.  Upon  putting  the  question,  17  members, 
only,  voted  to  comply,  against  92  contrary-minded.  The 
committee2  to  acquaint  the  Governor  of  this  decision  con 
sisted  of  Major  Joseph  Hawley  of  Northampton,  Otis,  Sam 
Adams,  James  Warren  of  Plymouth,  John  Hancock,  and 
Thomas  Cushing.  "If,"  said  they,  in  the  course  of  their 
address,4  "by  the  word  rescinding  is  intended  the  passing 
a  vote,  in  direct  and  express  disapprobation  of  the  measure 
taken  by  the  former  House,  ...  we  must  take  the  liberty 
to  testify  and  publicly  declare,  that  we  take  it  to  be  the 
native  .  .  .  right  of  the  subject  ...  to  petition  the  King 
for  the  redress  of  grievances.  ...  If  the  votes  of  the  House 
are  to  be  controlled  by  the  direction  of  a  minister,  we  have 
left  us  but  a  vain  semblance  of  liberty.  —  We  have  now 
only  to  inform  you,  that  this  House  have  voted  not  to 
rescind,  and  that  on  a  division  on  the  question  there  were 
92  nays  and  17  yeas.  In  all  this  we  have  been  actuated 
by  a  conscientious  and  finally  a  clear  and  determined  sense 
of  duty  to  God,  to  our  King,  our  Country,  and  our  latest 
posterity,  and  we  most  ardently  wish  and  humbly  pray 
that  in  your  future  conduct  your  Excellency  may  be  influ 
enced  by  the  same  principles."5  The  Governor  may  well 

1  American  Revolution,  I,  229.     Gordon. 

2  Annals  of  the  Revolution,  148,  149.     Morse. 

3  Life  of  Otis,  162.     Sparks. 

4  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  289.     Spencer. 

6  "  Preliminary  Period  of  the  American  Revolution."  George  C.  Lay. 
Godey's  Magazine,  February,  1898. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS        99 

have  bit  his  lip  and  wished  himself  rid  of  his  troublesome 
charges.     The  Assembly  was  again  dissolved. 

This  vote  was  the  occasion  of  another  of  Revere's  car 
toons.1  In  his  sketch  the  Rescinders  are  being  driven 
toward  a  pair  of  yawrning  jaws,  not  unlike  those  of  a  shark, 
from  which  flames  are  issuing.  Satan  flourishing  a  pitch 
fork  hurries  them  on  with  the  words:  "Now,  I've  got  you! 
A  fine  haul,  by  Jove!"  Behind  the  group  rises  the  cupola 
of  the  Province-house  with  the  Indian  symbol  of  the  Arms 
of  the  Province.  The  seventeen  Rescinders  were1  Win. 
Brown  and  Peter  Frye  of  Salem;  Richard  Saltonstall, 
Haverhill;  Dr.  John  Calef,  Ipswich;  Jacob  Fowle,  Marble- 
head;  Jonathan  Bliss,  Springfield;  Israel  Williams,  Hat- 
field;  Jonathan  Ashley,  Jr.,  Deerfield;  Capt.  Joseph  Root, 
Sunderland;  John  Ashley,  Esq.,  Sheffield  and  Great  Bar- 
rington;  Timothy  Ruggles,  Hard  wick;  Jonathan  Say  ward, 
York;  John  Chad  wick,  Tyringham,  in  the  County  of 
Berkshire;  Josiah  Edson,  Bridge  water;  Chillingsworth 
Foster,  Hardwich;  Win.  Jennigan,  Edgartown;  Matthew 
Mayhew,  Chilmark.  In  the  caricature  the  foremost  man  is 
supposed  to  be  the  Honorable  Timothy  Ruggles,  the  devil 
hovering  overhead  with  a  fork,  crying  impatiently:  "Push 
on,  Tim!"  The  rhyme  which  follows  was  written  by 
Dr.  Benjamin  Church: 

"On  brave  Rescinders!  to  yon  yawning  cell! 
Seventeen  such  miscreants  there  will  startle  hell; 
These  puny  Villains,  damned  for  petty  sin, 
On  such  distinguished  Scoundrels  gaze  and  grin; 
The  outdone  Devil  will  resign  his  sway; 
He  never  curst  his  millions  in  a  day." 

A  handsome  silver  punch  bowl,  six  inches  deep,  weighing 
45  ounces  and  holding  45  gills,  was  presented  by  fifteen 
Sons  of  Liberty  to  the  92  who  would  not  rescind.  It  has 
been  latterly  in  the  possession  of  William  MacKay,  great- 
great-grandson  of  William  MacKay  who  bought  out  the 
shares  of  his  associates  in  its  proprietorship.  The  names 

1  Life  of  Revere,  I,  61,  59,  62-3.     Goss. 


100    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

of  the  fifteen  donors  encircle  the  rim  of  the  bowl,  which  is 
inscribed:  "To  the  memory  of  the  glorious  Ninety -two  Mem 
bers  of  the  Honorable  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Bay,  who,  undaunted  by  the  insolent  Menaces 
of  Villains  in  Power,  from  a  strict  regard  to  Conscience  and 
the  Liberties  of  their  Constituents,  on  the  30th  of  June, 
1768,  Voted  NOT  TO  RESCIND/'  This  is  enclosed  in  a 
wreath,  and  surmounted  by  a  Liberty  cap.  On  the  oppo 
site  side,  in  a  smaller  wreath,  appears  "No.  45,  Wilkes  and 
Liberty,"  in  allusion  to  that  celebrated  issue  of  the  North 
Briton.  The  surface  of  the  bowl  bears  two  standards, 
one  inscribed  "Magna  Charta,"  the  other  "Bill  of  Rights;" 
beneath  lies  a  torn  document  labelled  "General  Warrants," 
referring  to  the  writs. 

A  favorite  toast  in  London  ran,1  "May  the  unrescind- 
ing  92  be  forever  united  in  idea  with  the  glorious  45." 
Ninety-two  gentlemen  would  gather  to  drink  45  toasts. 
Daughters  of  Liberty  held  quilting  parties  where  92  scraps 
of  calico  of  one  color  would  be  joined  to  45  of  another. 
Ninety-two  Sons  of  Liberty  met  to  raise  Liberty  poles  45 
feet  high.  At  the  dedication  of  a  Liberty  pole  at  Charles 
ton  92  glasses  and  45  candles  graced  the  table.  At  Peter 
sham2  the  vote  was  commemorated  by  the  dedication  of  a 
young  elm  to  Liberty  which  bore  92  branches,  17  having 
been  previously  lopped  off  and  burnt  with  much  cere 
mony.  Roger  Sherman  of  Connecticut  wrote:1  "The 
right  of  unfettered  discussion  is  inalienable  and  we  must 
maintain  it."  John  Dickinson  of  Pennsylvania  was  moved 
to  compose  his  famous  Liberty  Song  and  sent  a  copy  to 
Otis.  April  llth  we  find  him  writing,  "To  the  very  respect 
able  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boston,"  in  reply  to  a  letter 
of  gratitude,  as  follows:  "The  rank  of  the  Town  of  Boston, 
the  wisdom  of  her  counsels,  and  the  spirit  of  her  conduct 
render,  in  my  opinion,  the  approbation  of  her  inhabitants 

1  Our  Country,  I,  654,  650.     Lossing. 

2  History  of  Worcester  County,  I,  468.     D.  Hamilton  Hurd.     "  Petersham,"  by 
Lyman  Clark.     Philadelphia,  1889:  J.  W.  Lewis  &  Company. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS      101 

inestimable.  .  .  .  Love  of  my  country  engaged  me  in  that 
attempt  to  vindicate  her  rights  and  assert  her  interests, 
which  your  generosity  has  thought  proper  so  highly  to 
applaud.  .  .  .  Never,  until  my  heart  becomes  insensible 
of  all  worldly  things,  will  it  become  insensible  of  the 
unspeakable  obligations  which,  as  an  American,  I  owe  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  for 
the  vigilance  with  which  they  have  watched  over,  and  the 
magnanimity  with  which  they  have  maintained,  the  liber 
ties  of  the  British  Colonies  on  this  continent.  A  farmer." l 

In  South  Carolina  a  committee  of  leading  men  like 
Gadsden,  Laurens,  Pinckney,  Rutledge,  and  Lynch  reported 
that  the  Massachusetts  and  Virginia  circulars  were  "re 
plete  with  duty  and  loyalty  to  his  Majesty,  respect  for 
Parliament,  attachment  to  Great  Britain,  care  for  the  pres 
ervation  of  the  rights  of  British  subjects,  and  founded  upon 
undeniable  constitutional  principles."2  Similar  views  were 
at  once  adopted,  and  although  the  Governor  dissolved  the 
Assembly,  the  "twenty-six"  voters  for  the  resolution  were 
as  popular  as  the  Massachusetts  "ninety-two."  Novem 
ber  10th,  the  reply  of  North  Carolina  reached  Boston  and 
the  Evening  Post2  remarked  with  satisfaction,  "It  completes 
the  answer  to  our  Circular  Letter.  The  Colonies,  no  longer 
disconnected,  form  one  body;  a  common  sensation  possesses 
the  whole;  the  circulation  is  complete,  and  the  vital  fluid 
returns  from  whence  it  was  sent  out." 

On  the  8th  of  July,  a  schooner  arriving  with  molasses 
was  boarded  after  dark  by  a  party  of  thirty.  The  keepers 
were  secured  and  the  cargo  seized,  but  afterwards  restored 
through  the  efforts  of  the  selectmen,  Bernard  remarking 
with  a  sneer,  "We  are  not  without  a  government,  but  it  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  people  of  the  town."3  The  Evening 
Post 4  toward  the  end  of  the  month  published  the  following 

1  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  III,  22. 

2  Our  Country,  I,  651-2.     Lossing. 

3  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Ill,  357.     Bryant  and  Gay. 

4  Boston  Evening  Post,  July  25,  August  1,  15,  1768. 


102    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

letter  addressed  To  the  Hon.  Tho.  Gushing,  Esq.,  late 
Speaker.  "Sir,  .  .  .  You  have  Liberty  if  you  think  proper 
to  make  it  Public,  that  the  Representative  of  Kittery  if 
he  had  been  present  would  have  made  an  addition  to  the 
Memorable  No.  92.  I  am  Sir,  etc., 

JAMES  Go  WAN." 

Others1  of  similar  purport  were  received  from  Thomas 
Perkins  of  Arundel,  John  Wheelwright  of  Wells,  Benjamin 
Chadburn  of  Berwick,  and  Zephania  Leonard  of  Raynham.1 
Early  in  August,1  on  a  Wednesday  afternoon,  the  Romney 
sent  a  lieutenant  and  six  men  rowing  after  Paul  Spear's 
lighter,  bringing  ballast  from  Nantasket,  because  he  did  not 
lower  his  peak.  On  being  overhauled,  Spear  said  he  had 
no  halyard,  and  was  thereupon  fired  at  four  times  with  a 
musket  and  once  with  a  cannon.  Captain  Corner,  by  way 
of  explanation,  merely  prints  in  the  Chronicle  an  extract 
from  the  law  requiring1  a  salute. 

Upon  the  anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the  Sons  of 
Liberty  fourteen  salutes  were  fired  at  dawn.  Two  effigies 
had  been  strung  up  on  the  Liberty  Tree;  one  representing 
Williams,  the  customs  inspector,  the  other  Charles  Paxton, 
head  of  the  board.  This  last  was  placarded,2  "Every  man's 
humble  servant,  but  no  man's  friend."  These  were  quietly 
removed,  and  at  noon  a  crowd  gathered  beneath  the  wide- 
spreading  branches  of  the  elm  and  sang  to  the  tune  of 
"Hearts  of  Oak"  Dickinson's  already  popular  words:3 

"Come,  join  hand  in  hand,  brave  AMERICANS  all, 
And  rouse  your  bold  hearts  at  fair  LIBERTY'S  call; 
No  tyrannous  acts  shall  suppress  your  just  claim, 
Or  stain  with  dishonor  AMERICA'S  name. 
In  FREEDOM  we're  born  and  in  FREEDOM  we'll  live, 

Our  purses  are  ready, 

Steady,  Friends,  steady, 
Not  as  SLAVES,  but  as  FREEMEN,  our  Money  we'll  give." 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  July  25,  August  1,  15,  1768. 

2  Proceedings  Bostonian  Society,  January  13,  1891.     Boston  1891.     Published 
by  the  Society. 

3  Boston  Chronicle,  August  29-September  5,  1768. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS      103 

At  the  close,  a  contemporary  account1  tells  us,  "The 
fair  Daughters  of  Liberty  showed  themselves  at  the  neigh 
boring  windows  with  Smiles  of  Satisfaction."  Fourteen 
toasts  were  presented  with  much  ceremony,  there  was  a 
flourish  of  French  horns,  and  the  cannon  boomed  until 
the  number  92  had  been  completed.  After  which  the 
gentry,  "about  100,"  drove  out  to  the  Grayhound  at  Rox- 
bury  (i.e.,  Greaton's  on  Washington  Street,  nearly  oppo 
site  Warren),  ate  frugally  while  music  played,  and  drank 
45  additional  toasts,  the  last l  being: 

"Every  man  under  his  own  Vine!  under  his  own  Fig- 
Tree!  None  to  make  us  afraid!  And  let  all  the  People 
say  AMEN!" 

A  tree  was  then  consecrated  to  Liberty,  and  the  party 
made  "an  agreeable  Excursion  around  Jamaica  Pond,"1 
during  which  they  were  saluted  by  cannon  from  a  friend 
to  the  cause.  At  six  they  paraded  through  the  streets  of 
Boston,  passing  the  Town-house  before  separating.  The 
newspaper1  concludes  "The  joy  of  the  Day  was  manly, 
and  an  uninterrupted  Regularity  presided  through  the 
whole,"  although  Bernard  wrote  over  to  England  that  the 
streets  were  thronged  and  the  outcries  "quite  terrible." 

The  Governor  was  not  careful  of  the  truth  and  played 2 
with  the  Council  through  the  summer.  If  they  would  but 
drop  their  vain  discussion  of  Parliament's  supremacy,  he 
assured  them,  he  would  use  his  influence  against  the  rev 
enue  laws,  and  produced  a  letter  to  Hillsborough  in  favor 
of  their  petition.  Although  this  was  written,  another  went 
forward  of  an  opposite  tenor,  explaining  his  temporizing 
policy.  Hillsborough  lent  himself  to  the  plot  and  despatched 
a  pretended  reply  of  encouragement  to  blind  the  Council,  in 
which  the  King's  name  even  appeared.  While  this  trifling 
was  going  on,  General  Gage,  in  obedience  to  Hillsborough's 
orders,  early  in  June  placed  several  regiments  at  Bernard's 
disposal.  Conditions  were  rapidly  becoming  acute  and  the 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  August  15,  22,  1768. 

2  Our  Country,  I,  655-6.       Lossing. 


104     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Governor  hesitated  as  to  his  course.  At  length  the  com 
missioners,  wearying  of  their  retreat  in  Castle  William, 
relieved  him  of  all  responsibility  by  appealing  directly  to 
Gage  in  New  York,  and  Commodore  Hood  in  Halifax,  for 
protection.1  Their  prayer  was  granted,  and  despite  the 
unanimous  disapproval  of  the  Governor's  Council,  based 
upon  an  act  of  first  of  King  William,  which  made  it  illegal 2 
to  maintain  a  standing  army  in  times  of  peace,  without 
consent  of  Parliament,  preparations  for  the  troops'  recep 
tion  were  immediately  set  on  foot.  The  Romney,  Captain 
Corner,  was  presently  reinforced  by  the  Beaver,  Captain 
Billings,  and  the  Senegal,  Captain  Cookson;  their  arrival 
being  anxiously  noted  by  John  Rowe,  who  was  told3 
personally  by  Bernard  that  he  "had  staved  off  the  in 
troducing  troops  as  long  as  he  could,  but  could  do  it  no 
longer." 

Early  in  September  an  officer  arrived  from  Halifax  and 
made  inquiry  as  to  possible  quarters.  On  discovering  his 
errand  an  empty  nail  barrel  was  placed  on  the  "saddle" 
of  the  beacon  as  if  to  be  fired  when  the  soldiers  drew  near, 
but  no  opposition  was  offered  when  Sheriff  Greenleaf 
appeared  4  to  take  it  down.  Wishing  to  verify  the  flying 
rumors  5  from  Bernard's  own  mouth,  Otis,  the  two  Adams, 
and  Hancock  were  deputed  to  wait  on  the  Governor. 
Assured  of  the  troops'  coming,  they  desired  that  a  special 
meeting  of  the  Legislature  might  be  called.  By  Lord  Hills- 
borough's  instructions  the  Legislature  stood  prorogued,  until 
it  was  ready  to  vote  contrary  to  its  convictions  and  rescind. 
Bernard,  therefore,  declared  he  had  no  power  in  the  matter 
and  bowed  the  committee  out.  In  this  state  of  affairs  the 
Boston  selectmen  took  the  lead  and  (September  12th) 
called  a  convention  6  of  delegates  for  the  22d.  As  a  sample 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  135.     Higgins. 

2  War  in  America,  I,  163.     Murray. 
8  Diary,  September  9th. 

4  Antiquities,  745.     Drake. 

6  Our  Country,  I,  656.     Lossing. 

8  Universal  Magazine,  October,  1768. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS     105 

of  what  passed  in  many  a  town,  the  following  votes  may  be 
of  interest:  l 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Brook 
lyn,  Legally  warn'd,  Voted  William  Hyslop,  Esq'r,  Chosen 
Moderator,  Voted  To  Choose  a  Committee  man  to  Joine 
the  Committee  from  the  Several  Towns  at  Faneuil  Hall. 

"Voted  that  Captain  Benjamin  White  be  the  Committee 
man. 

"Voted  that  This  Meeting  be  Adjourned  without  Day." 

When  the  delegates  came  together  they  were  greeted 
by  a  letter  from  Bernard,2  dated  from  the  Province-house, 
"To  the  Gentlemen  assembled  at  Faneuil  Hall  under  the 
name  of  a  Committee  of  Convention"  -  in  which  he  states 
that  he  cannot  "sit  still"  and  see  a  meeting  called  by  pri 
vate  persons.  They  might  have  gathered  in  ignorance  of 
the  law.  If  so,  he  bade  them  disperse,  and  "that  instantly 
before  you  do  any  business,  .  .  .  For  assure  yourselves 
(I  speak  from  instruction),  the  King  is  determined  to  main 
tain  his  entire  sovereignty  over  this  Province." 

Ninety-six  out  of  the  ninety-seven  towns  in  the  Province 
were  represented,  Hatfield  alone  declining  to  participate. 
"We  are  not  sensible,"  2  objected  Oliver  Partridge,  her 
town  clerk,  "that  the  state  of  America  is  so  alarming,  or 
the  state  of  this  Province  so  materially  different  from  what 
it  was  a  few  months  since."  "Their  petitions,"  he  con 
tinued,  "must  soon  reach  the  royal  ear."  The  last  Wednes 
day  in  May  would  naturally  bring  about  an  Assembly, 
and  "we  cannot  comprehend  what  pretence  there  can  be 
of  a  proposed  convention,  unless  the  probability  for  a  con 
siderable  number  of  regular  troops  being  sent  to  this  Province 
and  an  apprehension  of  their  being  quartered  in  your  town 
...  it  was  a  matter  of  doubt  and  uncertainty,  whether 
any  were  coming  ...  if  ...  for  your  defence,  in  case 
of  a  French  war  (as  you  tell  us  there  is  in  the  minds  of 
many  a  prevailing  apprehension  .  .  .  )  or  ...  for  the 
protection  of  the  new-acquired  territories,  is  altogether 

1  Brookline  Records,  222.         2  War  in  America,  I,  152,  165-8.     Murray. 


106    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

uncertain  ...  if  your  town  meant  sincerely,  we  can't  see 
the  need  they  had  of  interposing  in  military  matters.  .  .  . 
The  governments  have,  in  our  opinion,  consulted,  and  are 
pursuing  the  properest  methods  to  obtain  redress  of  their 
grievances;  our  duty  is  to  wait  with  patience  the  event, 
unless  we  are  determined  to  take  the  alternative.  .  .  . 
Suffer  us  to  observe,  that  in  our  opinion,  the  measures  the 
town  of  Boston  are  pursuing  .  .  .  have  a  direct  tendency 
to  rivet  our  chains,  and  deprive  us  of  our  rights  and  privi 
leges,  which  we,  the  inhabitants  of  this  town,  desire  .  .  . 
and  [we]  hereby  declare  our  loyalty  to  his  present  Majesty, 
and  fidelity  to  our  country;  and  that  it  is  our  firm  resolu 
tion,  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  to  maintain  and  defend 
our  rights  in  every  prudent  and  reasonable  way,  as  far  as 
is  consistent  with  our  duty  to  God  and  the  King." 

It  is  said 1  when  one  of  the  number  asked  what  was  meant 
by  the  constant  references  to  "arms"  and  the  "enemy," 
the  speaker  waved  his  hand  toward  a  stack  of  four  hundred 
town  arms,  lately  brought  from  a  lumber  room  and  refur 
bished,  with  the  words:  "These  are  the  Arms;  when  an 
attempt  is  made  against  your  liberties  they  will  be  deliv 
ered;  our  declaration  wants  no  explanation." 

The  next  few  days  were  full  of  annoyance  to  the  Gov 
ernor.  He  heard  from  Lord  Hillsborough  and  General  Gage 
as  to  the  disposal  of  the  coming  troops,  but  met  with  no 
co-operation  1  from  the  Council.  The  constables,  he  was 
told,  should  scatter  the  soldiers  about  at  the  various  public 
houses.  "Better  still,"  suggested  the  selectmen,  hope 
fully,  "keep  them  all  out  of  the  way,  at  the  Castle."  So 
matters  rested,  despite  his  best  efforts,  on  the  eve  of  their 
arrival.  On  the  very  day2  the  convention  broke  up,  to 
Bernard's  great  satisfaction,  six  men-o'-war  came  to  anchor 
in  Nantasket  Roads.  Others  followed,  until,  with  the  trans 
ports,  "about  14"  ships  encircled  the  hardy  little  town.3 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  140,  143.     Higgins. 

2  War  in  America,  I,  170.     Murray. 

3  Tudor's  Diary,  27.     Tudor. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS      107 

Never  had  the  harbor  been  so  gay  and  rowboats  flocked 
about  the  newcomers,  watching  the  stir  on  board  by  day 
and  the  rocket  signals  by  night.  Calling  a  Council  meeting 
at  the  Castle,  Thursday  the  29th,  in  the  presence  of  the 
fleet  commanders,  the  Governor  made  one  more  attempt  to 
adjust  matters.  Colonel  Dalrymple  "very  genteelly"  ex 
pressed  a  hope  he  was  "coming  among  friends,"  1  and  while 
it  was  possibly  true  in  a  sense  that  the  Castle  was  "in  the 
town"  and  so  the  right  place  for  quartering  his  men,  he  did 
not  so  read  his  orders;  and  he  was  used  to  mind  his  orders, 
not  to  dispute  them.  He  should  therefore  take  his  men  into 
the  town,  and  if  the  Town-house  only  was  forthcoming  for 
quarters,  they  must  be  put  there,  but  he  could  not  be  answer 
able  for  their  behavior  thus  away  from  their  officers'  eyes. 
When  the  room  had  been  cleared  the  Governor  asked  why 
was  not  the  Manufactory  House  a  feasible  building,  and 
desired  authority  at  the  Crown's  charges  to  make  it  avail 
able.  The  Council  refused  in  writing  and  he  then  assigned 
it  on  his  own  authority.  Unhappily,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
William  Dalrymple  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Maurice  Carr, 
the  officers  in  command,  had  been  led  to  expect  forcible 
resistance,  so  that  from  the  outset  they  were  hopelessly  at 
odds  with  the  townspeople.  On  the  30th,  sixteen  rounds  a 
man  were  furnished,2  the  vessels  swung  round  presenting 
their  broadsides,  and  under  cover  of  their  guns,  at  noon, 
the  landing  was  begun.  Dalrymple's  regiment,  the  14th, 
was  the  first  ashore,  and  marched  up  King  Street  to  the 
Town-house,  where  it  halted  until  Carr's,  the  29th,  joined 
them.  They  then  made  their  way  to  the  Common,  followed 
a  little  later  by  two  companies  of  the  59th  under 3  Captain 
Wilson,  and  a  train  of  artillery,  with  two  field  pieces;  in 
all  some  eight  hundred  men.  They  marched  with  muskets 
charged  and  bayonets  fixed,  their  colors  flying,  drums 
beating,  and  music  playing.  "In  short,"  says  Deacon 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  151-3.     Higgins. 

2  John  Hancock  His  Book,  161-2.     Brown, 

3  Universal  Magazine,  November,  1768. 


108    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Tudor,1  "they  made  a  gallant  appearance."  Almost  at 
once  the  officers  and  the  selectmen  were  involved  in  a 
dispute  as  to  quartering  the  men.  While  the  barracks  in 
the  harbor  were  vacant  the  town  could  not  be  compelled 
to  find  other  lodgings.  Secure  in  this  knowledge,  Rowe  2 
tells  us,  they  "did  not  think  themselves  obliged  to  take 
cognizance  for  their  being  quartered  in  town." 

At  this  time  there  stood  on  the  easterly  corner  of  Hamil 
ton  Place  and  Tremont  Street,  or  Long  Acre,  a  two-story 
brick  building  known  as  the  Linen  Manufactory  House.3  It 
was  entered  from  the  side  street  by  a  flight  of  double  stone 
steps,  handsomely  railed,  and  the  west  wall  was  ornamented 
with  the  figure  of  a  woman  holding  a  distaff.  For  twelve 
years  past  the  house  had  been  leased  from  the  Province  by 
Elisha  Brown,  a  weaver,  and  here  he  had  his  home,4  "which 
the  wind  and  the  rain  might  enter  but  which  the  King 
could  not  enter." 

This  building  had  been  noted  by  the  officer  sent  on  in 
advance,  and  the  troops  had  no  sooner  broke  ranks  than 
Lieutenant  Cooper  5  of  the  14th  hurried  across  the  street  to 
look  at  the  factory.  Finding  the  rooms  to  his  mind  the  young 
officer  intimated  that  the  colonel  wished  immediate  posses 
sion.  Brown  demurred  and  was  carried  before  Dalrymple  on 
the  Common.  Here  he  was  told  the  Governor  had  given 
orders  for  clearing  the  building,  but  the  matter  was  courte 
ously  waived  for  the  moment.  As  the  afternoon  went  on  the 
29th  regiment,  which  had  brought  its  tents  along,  set  them  up 
and  made  themselves1  comfortable.  The  14th,  having  no 
camp  fittings,  left  the  Common  at  sunset  and  marched  to 
Faneuil  Hall,  where  they  stood  about  two  hours.  At  last,  near 
nine  o'clock,  the  shivering  men  were  taken  pity  on  by  the  Sons 
of  Liberty,6  who  threw  open  the  doors  and  invited  them  in. 

1  Diary,  28.     Tudor. 

2  Letters  and  Diary,   176.     Ed.  Anne   Rowe   Cunningham.      Boston,    1903: 
W.  B.  Clarke  Company. 

3  Landmarks  of  Boston,  301,  303.     Drake. 

4  Richard  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 
6  Boston  Evening  Post,  October  3,  1768. 

6  Our  Country,  II,  665.     Lossing. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS      109 

The  men  of  the  59th  had  meanwhile  taken  shelter  in 
Robert  Gordon's  stores  l  on  Griffin's  wharf.  On  Sunday, 
by  the  Governor's  orders,  the  troops  were  not  only  admitted 
to  the  Town-house,  but  to  the  Representatives  2  Chamber 
itself.  That  same  day  3  John  Rowe  mentions  an  irritating 
encounter  at  the  Coffee  House,  where  he  "was  smartly 
accosted"  by  Captain  Dundass,  commander  of  an  armed 
schooner,  the  St.  Lawrence,,  one  of  the  fleet  just  arrived,  in 
the  following  words:  "Huh,  John,  are  you  there?  Dammy, 
I  expected  to  hear  of  your  being  hanged  before  now,  for 
damn  you,  you  deserve  it."  "Upon  which  I  made  reply, 
'Surely,  Captain  Dundass,  you're  joking.'  Upon  which 
he  answered,  no,  damn  him  if  he  was,  for  'you  are  a  damn 
incendiary,  and  I  hope  to  see  you  hanged  yet  in  your  shoes.' 
...  I  thought  it  prudent  not  to  take  any  notice  of  it  just 
then,  but  come  home  to  dinner." 

Much  resentment  was  felt  at  Bernard's  duplicity. 
October  6th,  Deacon  Tudor  writes  in  his  Diary: 2  "Last 
evening  the  picture  of  Governor  Bd.  hanging  in  College 
Hall,  [old  Massachusetts]  had  a  piece  cut  out  of  the  Breast, 
like  a  Heart,  &  a  Note  left,  giving  the  Reason,"  i.e.,  "that 
it  was  a  most  charitable  attempt  to  deprive  him  of  that 
part,  which  a  Retrospect  upon  his  Administration  must 
have  rendered  exquisitely  painful."4 

A  few  days  later  the  guard-house  on  the  Neck  wras 
pulled  down  by  unknown  hands.5  Shortly  after,2  General 
Gage's  chariot,  drawn  by  four  horses,  came  whirling  across 
the  Neck  on  the  last  stage  from  New  York,  surrounded  and 
preceded  by  mounted  aide-de-camps,  and  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  was  joyfully  welcomed  by  a  salute  of  seventeen 
guns  on  the  Common. 

There  was  much  dining  out,  and  the  families  whose 
sympathies  had  all  along  leaned  toward  the  Government 
party  courted  the  officers'  company  and  did  not  disguise 

1  Diary.     Rowe.  3  Diary,  October  2d. 

2  Tudor  s  Diary,  28.     Tudor.  4  Boston  Evening  Post,  Dec.  19,  1768. 

6  Diary.     Rowe.     October  10th. 


110    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

their  preference  for  dazzling  uniforms  over  plain  home 
spun.  General  Gage  was  all  complacency  and  we  find  him 
presently  standing  godfather  to  one  of  the  Hon.  John 
Temple's  children.1  Dalrymple  received  visits  from  Otis, 
Hancock,  and  Rowe,  and  flattered  himself  that  he  was 
much  "the  fashion"  and  that  they  were  "crying  peccavi."  2 
At  first  Governor  Bernard  seems  to  have  even  hoped  that  he 
could  buy  up  the  leaders  and  crush  out  all  opposition. 
But  he  was  soon  undeceived.  John  Hancock  tore  up  the 
commission3  tendering  him  a  seat  in  the  Council,  and  John 
Adams 3  did  not  hesitate  to  refuse  the  appointment  of  Advo 
cate-General  in  the  Court  of  Admiralty. 

As  the  season  advanced,  Gage  foresaw  the  importance 
of  coming  to  a  clear  understanding  about  quarters.  He 
therefore  warned  the  Council  that  two  additional  regiments 
of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men  each  were  on  their  way  from 
Ireland,  and  asked  what  provision  they  proposed  to  make. 
Casting  about  for  a  likely  building,  one  of  the  councillors 
suggested  the  Manufactory  House  had  already  met  with 
the  officers'  approval,  and  it  was  finally  voted  six  to  five  that 
it  be  assigned.2  Accordingly,  armed  with  an  order  from 
the  Governor,  in  the  afternoon  of  October  17th  Sheriff  Green- 
leaf  and  Chief  Justice  Hutchinson4  appeared  before  Brown's 
door,  but  found  their  entrance  barred.  Putting  his  head 
out  of  the  hall  window,  Brown  said  he  had  not  received 
legal  warning,  and  nothing  save  force  should  make  him 
leave  unless  required  by  the  General  Court  from  whom  he 
held.  Hutchinson  told  him  the  Governor  and  Council 
were  the  remaining  power  of  the  Province  and  he  was  ill- 
advised  to  linger.  The  sheriff  then  walked  up  the  eastern 
most  stairs,  rapped,  and  returned  and  read  the  minute  of 
the  Council's  vote.  Meanwhile  Brown  kept  his  doors  and 
windows  fast,  the  weavers  leaving  the  cellar  by  a  window 

1  Diary.      Rowe.      October  23d. 

2  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  155, 160.     Higgins. 

3  Our  Country,  I,  657.     Lossing. 

4  Boston  Evening  Post,  Oct.  24,  1768. 


RESISTANCE  TO  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS      111 

on  the  east  side.  The  next  day,  Thursday,  between  twelve 
and  one,  the  sheriff  came  to  the  east  end  of  the  factory  and 
spied  a  weaver  just  slipping  out  by  the  window.  The 
weaver  tried  to  thwart  Greenleaf,  but  the  sheriff  pushed  him 
aside  and  entered,  sword  in  hand.  Brown  tried  in  his  turn 
to  keep  him  out,  but  a  loom  came  in  his  way.  Two  deputies 
and  a  servant  now  sprang  in  to  assist  the  sheriff,  and  Brown 
beat  a  retreat  to  the  upper  floor,  securing  the  door  behind 
him.  Word  was  at  once  carried  to  the  officer  of  the  picquet 
on  the  Common,  and  sentries  set  at  the  doors  and  gate.  A 
guard  of  ten  men  was  posted  in  the  cellar,  and  an  additional 
company  left  to  keep  the  street  clear.  Strict  orders  were 
given  that  no  person  should  be  allowed  to  enter  the  house, 
although  any  who  chose  might  leave.  The  paper 1  says  that 
even  bread  and  water  were  denied  the  household  Friday 
morning,  and  Dr.  Church's  apprentice  was  hustled  while  try 
ing  to  take  in  medicine.  The  Brown  children  crying  at  the 
window,  however,  created  so  much  sympathy,  later  in  the 
day  some  food  was  thrown  in  without  objection  being  made. 
Saturday,  the  22d,  the  Council  met  and  sent  a  deputa 
tion  of  seven  to  apprise  the  Governor  he  had  exceeded  their 
intent.  Accordingly,  that  evening  most  of  the  soldiers 
were  removed,  although  a  few  were  still  stationed  at  a  win 
dow  and  in  the  cellar.  This,  apparently,  left  billeting  as 
the  only  recourse.  Laying  the  matter  once  more  before  the 
Council,  the  Governor  was  again  informed  they  declined  to 
act  while  the  Castle  was  unoccupied.  Bernard  showed 
that  this  was  held  in  reserve  for  the  two  Irish  regiments, 
and  asked  what  they  proposed  to  do  for  those  on  the  spot. 
As  a  result  of  this  last  deliberation,  ten  voted  against  gen 
eral  billeting  and  two  declined  to  act  single-handed.  The 
futile  effort  had  consumed  thirty-eight  days;  indeed  some 
supposed  the  Council  would  gladly  have  seen  the  Governor 
wearied  into  an  unseemly  clash  which  could  have  given 
them  a  handle  against  him.2  But  Bernard  seems  to  have 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  Oct.  24.  1768. 

2  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  157.     Higgins. 


112    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

acted  with  prudence,  and  in  the  dilemma  General  Gage 
issued  a  commission  for  the  placing  of  the  troops,  with  the 
consent  of  the  owners,  in  suitable  winter  quarters. 

October  27th  the  streets  were  filled  with  squads  of 
soldiers,  the  14th  regiment  left  Faneuil  Hall  for  fresh  quar 
ters  on  Pitt's  wharf  and  the  29th  joyfully  struck  their  tents 
and  marched  away  to  Green's  lane,  New  Boston  (the  pres 
ent  West  End) .  The  same  day  fifteen  councillors  presented 
an  address  to  Gage  urging  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops,  as 
uncalled  for.  He  replied  the  town  must  make  up  its  mind 
to  a  permanent  garrison  of  four  regiments  to  protect  the 
loyalists,  and  added  he  "hoped  the  future  behavior  of 
the  people  would  justify  the  best  construction  of  past 
actions."  l 

On  November  4th  the  last  soldier  was  drawn  off  from 
the  Manufactory  and  Brown  was  left  master  of  the  field. 
Small  wonder  that  his  gravestone  in  the  old  Granary  should 
triumphantly  record : 2 

[Here  lies]  ELISHA  BROWN  of  BOSTON. 
who  in  Octr  1769,  during  17  days 

inspired  with 

a  generous  zeal  for  the  LAWS 

bravely  and  successfully 

opposed  a  whole  British  Regt. 

in  their  violent  attempt 

to  FORCE  him  from  his 

legal  Habitation. 

Happy  Citizen  when  call'd 

Singley 

to  be  a  Barrier  to  the  Liberties 

of  a  Continent. 

1  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

2  "Ye  Ancient  Burial  Grounds  of  Boston."     Cox.     New  England  Magazine, 
January,  1893. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD 

HOOD,  as  a  bluff  sailor  man,  could  make  nothing  of 
Bernard's  policy  and  wrote  to  Grenville  that  though 
the  Governor  had  much  cunning  he  had  lost  his  road  l 
through  his  many  turnings  and  doublings.  The  non-sup 
port  of  his  Council,  indeed,  was  regarded  by  Bernard  as  the 
beginning  of  the  end,  and  we  can  well  believe  that  he 
chafed  at  being  detained  at  his  post  by  Government  now 
that  the  troops  were  arrived;  indeed  Hood  comments  l 
on  the  "earnest  looks"  with  which  he  "followed  the  ship" 
that  was  to  have  borne  him  thence.  Under  other  condi 
tions  his  ability  and  kindly  interest  in  local  affairs  would 
have  placed  him  among  the  highest  in  public  regard. 
But  unhappily  in  the  exercise  of  his  duty  as  part  of  the 
governmental  system  an  issue  was  bound  to  arise  with  the 
defenders  of  the  Colon}^. 

October  31st,  Gage  wrote  to  Lord  Hillsborough  that  the 
Constitution  of  Massachusetts  was  so  democratic  it  gave 
the  Governor  little  chance  to  control  disorders.  Bernard 
by  the  same  mail  wrote,  "I  told  Cushing,  the  Speaker,  some 
months  ago,  that  they  were  got  to  the  edge  of  rebellion, 
and  advised  them  not  to  step  over  the  line,"  and  closes 
dismally,2  "I  am  now  at  sea  again  in  the  old  weather-beaten 
boat,  with  the  wind  blowing  as  hard  as  ever."  Not  long 
after,  the  commissioners  of  customs  announced  that  they 
would  shortly  return  from  the  Castle  and  open  an  office  in 
Concert  Hall,  on  the  southerly  corner  of  Hanover  Street, 
under  the  protection  of  a  sentinel;  causing  one  of  the  news- 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  169.     Higgins. 

2 "The  Sam  Adams  Regiments  in  the  Town  of  Boston."  Richard  Frothing- 
ham.  Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

113 


114    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

papers1  to  observe  slyly  "so  the  town  [will]  be  again  blessed 
with  the  fruits  of  the  benevolence  of  the  Board,  as  well  as 
an  example  of  true  politeness  and  breeding."  About  the 
same  time  such  soldiers  as  had  overrun  the  Town-house, 
and  hustled,  whether  they  would  or  no,  the  merchants  in 
the  Exchange  on  the  lower  floor,  were  removed  to  the  late 
James  Smith's  sugar  refinery  which  stood  on  Brattle  Street, 
between  the  Church  and  Wing's  Lane.  This  was  rented  J 
to  them  at  £15  a  month,  by  Smith's  brother-in-law,  James 
Murray,  and  in  consequence  went  indifferently  by  the  name 
of  Smith's  or  Murray's  Barracks.  Throughout  this  try 
ing  period  the  forbearance  of  Boston  was  praised  in  the 
London  papers.  "By  this  wise  and  excellent  conduct," 
said  one,  "you  have  disappointed  your  enemies,  and  con 
vinced  your  friends  that  an  entire  reliance  is  to  be  placed 
on  the  supporters  of  freedom  at  Boston,  in  every  occurrence, 
however  delicate  or  dangerous."  2  In  the  height  of  their 
troubles,  Sam  Adams  had  written  to  the  Boston  Gazette:2 
"It  is  always  safe  to  adhere  to  the  law,  and  to  keep  every 
man  of  every  denomination  and  character  within  its  bounds. 
Not  to  do  this  would  be  in  the  highest  degree  imprudent. 
What  will  it  be  but  to  depart  from  the  straight  line,  to  give 
up  the  law  and  the  Constitution,  which  is  fixed  and  stable, 
and  is  the  collected  and  long-digested  sentiment  of  the  whole, 
and  to  substitute  in  its  place  the  opinion  of  individuals, 
than  which  nothing  can  be  more  uncertain?"  Otis,  when 
a  Boston  placard  called  on  the  Sons  of  Liberty  to  "rise 
and  fight  for  their  rights,"  asserting  they  "would  be  joined 
by  legions,"  reminded  his  hearers,  in  town  meeting,  that 
"their  forefathers,  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Charles 
L,  for  fifteen  years  together,  were  continually  offering  up 
prayers  to  their  God,  and  petitions  to  their  King,  for  re 
dress  of  grievances,  before  they  would  partake  themselves 
to  any  forcible  measures."3  Truly,  as  Frothingham  has 

l'  Boston  Evening  Post,  December  19,1768. 

2  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

1  Our  Country,  I,  639.     Lossing. 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD  115 

said,1  "this  respect  for  Law,  when  Liberty  was  as  a  live 
coal  from  the  divine  altar,  adhered  to  so  faithfully  for 
years,  in  spite,  too,  of  goadings  by  those  who  wielded  Brit 
ish  power,  but  forgot  American  right,  must  be  regarded  as 
remarkable." 

November  10th,  Colonel  John  Pomeroy,  with  part  of 
the  64th  and  65th  Irish  regiments  from  Cork,  arrived 
and  were  quartered  in  a  warehouse  on  Wheelwright's  wharf.1 
November  13th,  Commodore  Samuel  Hood  also  arrived, 
and  disposed  the  fleet  for  the  winter.  A  fortnight  later,  sat 
isfied  that  all  was  in  good  trim,  General  Gage 2  departed. 
The  commissioners  had  emerged  from  the  Castle  determined 
to  break  Hancock.  Upon  trumped-up  charges  of  irregu 
larity,  the  Liberty  was  condemned  and  attached  to  the 
revenue  service.  Malcolm  was  next  seized,  and  Hancock 
himself  3  arrested  by  Arodi  Thayer,  marshal  of  the  Court 
of  Admiralty,  on  a  pretext  for  £900,  thrice  the  value  of 
the  cargo;  bail  was  held  at  upward  of  £3000,  which  was 
provided.  It  seemed  to  John  Adams,  who  acted  as  his  coun 
sel,  "as  if  the  Court  of  Admiralty  were  determined  to  exam 
ine  the  whole  town  as  witnesses."  They  even  threatened 
"to  summon  his  amiable  and  venerable  Aunt,  the  relict  of 
his  Uncle  Thomas  Hancock."4  Part  of  the  defence  was 
based  on  the  injustice  of  enforcing  a  statute  which  Hancock 
had  neither  voted  for  himself  nor  voted  for  any  man  to  make 
for  him.  He  adds,  "A  painful  drudgery  I  had  of  his  case 
and  not  a  charge  was  established."  Collision  with  the 
sailors  from  the  war  ships  was  inevitable  and  December  5th 
Rowe  enters  in  his  diary,  "Be  it  remembered  that  Sir 
Thomas  Rich  of  the  Senegal  pressed  all  Captain  Dash  wood's 
hands."  It  was  a  hard  winter  to  worry  through.  Scarce 
a  week  went  by  without  annoyance 8  from  the  soldiery. 

1  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

2  Diary,  November  24th.     Rowe. 

3  Antiquities,  755.     Drake. 

4  Diary,  II,  215-16.     C.  F.  Adams. 

6  Boston  Evening  Post,  January  30,  23,  February  6,  1769. 


116    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Time  and  again  we  read  of  some  of  the  principal  gentlemen 
with  their  ladies,  or  several  young  gentlemen  quietly  pass 
ing  to  their  homes,  lantern  in  hand,  being  challenged  as 
they  drew  near  a  guard-house  and  detained  if  they  saw  no 
occasion  to  reply.  A  knot  of  sailors  going  along  in  com 
pany  with  a  woman  would  be  stopped  and  some  soldier 
impudently  assert  the  woman  was  his  wife,  and  the  whole 
party  come  to  blows.1  Again  and  again  frightened  women 
and  unarmed  men  would  run  for  the  nearest  house,  and 
take  shelter  in  the  entry- way.  Often  the  people  living 
there,  on  bringing  a  candle  to  the  door,  would  be  roughly 
dealt  with.  Drunkenness  and  robbery  increased,  and  the 
town  was  grieved  beyond  words. 

Meanwhile  the  feeling  in  England  was  that  the  landing 
of  the  troops  had  saved  the  day.  A  view  in  which  they  were 
supported  by  Hutchinson,  who,  after  stating,2  "perhaps  if 
New  York  had  no  troops  the  people  would  run  riot  as  we 
did,"  concludes,  "five  or  six  men-o'-war,  and  three  or  four 
regiments  disturb  nobody,  but  some  of  our  grave  people, 
who  do  not  love  assemblies  and  concerts,  and  cannot  bear 
the  noise  of  drums  upon  a  Sunday.  I  know  I  have  not 
slept  in  town  any  three  months  these  two  years,  in  so  much 
tranquillity,  as  I  have  done  the  three  months  since  the 
troops  came." 

In  December,  Bernard  wrote  home,3  "it  is  not  like  soon, 
perhaps  ever,  to  happen  again  ...  so  fair  an  opportunity 
for  the  supreme  power  to  reform  the  constitution  of  this 
subordinate  government."  In  a  letter  of  the  23d,  marked 
"confidential,"  he  proposed  that  the  justices  who  held 
the  quartering  of  troops  illegal  should  be  dismissed,  and 
that  the  leaders  of  the  September  convention,  viz.,  James 
Otis,  Moderator;  Joseph  Jackson,  John  Ruddock,  John 
Hancock,  John  Rowe,  Samuel  Pemberton,  William  Cooper, 
Thomas  Cushing,  Speaker,  and  Sam  Adams,  be  censured 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  May  1,  February  6,  20,  1769. 

2  Annals,  167.     Morse. 

3  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD  117 

and  disqualified  for  future  membership  in  the  Legislature. 
"The  giving  these  men  a  check,"  says  he,1  "would  make 
them  less  capable  of  doing  more  mischief,  —  would  really 
be  salutary  to  themselves,  as  well  as  advantageous  to  the 
government. "  This  letter  was  unsigned  and  enclosed  in 
another,  dated  Christmas  Eve,  1768,  to  Under-Secretary 
John  Pownall — brother  of  the  Ex-Governor — in  which  he 
enjoined  great  secrecy. 

The  General  Court  was  busy  at  this  time2  drawing  up 
letters  to  Shelburne,  Conway,  Rockingham,  Camden, 
Chatham,  and  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury. 
Their  petition  to  the  King  is  said  to  have  been  drafted 
by  Sam  Adams,  running  in  part:  "If  your  Majesty's  sub 
jects  here  shall  be  deprived  of  the  honor  and  privilege  of 
voluntarily  contributing  their  aid  to  your  Majesty,  in 
supporting  your  government  and  authority  in  the  Province, 
and  defending  and  securing  your  rights  and  territories  in 
America,  which  they  have  always  hitherto  done  with  the 
utmost  cheerfulness;  if  these  acts  of  Parliament  shall  remain 
in  force,  and  your  Majesty's  Commons '  in  Great  Britain 
shall  continue  to  exercise  the  power  of  granting  the  prop 
erty  of  their  fellow  subjects  in  this  Province;  your  people 
must  then  regret  their  unhappy  fate  in  having  only  the  name 
of  free  subjects.  With  all  humility  we  conceive  that  a 
representation  of  this  Province  in  Parliament,  considering 
their  local  circumstances,  is  utterly  impracticable.  Your 
Majesty  has  therefore  been  graciously  pleased  to  order 
your  requisitions  to  be  laid  before  the  representatives  of 
your  people  in  the  General  Assembly,  who  have  never  failed 
to  afford  the  necessary  aid,  to  the  extent  of  their  ability, 
and  sometimes  beyond  it,  and  it  would  be  ever  grievous  to 
your  Majesty's  faithful  subjects,  to  be  called  upon  in  a  way 
that  should  appear  to  them  to  imply  a  distrust  of  their  most 
ready  and  willing  compliance." 

All  hopes  founded  on  a  favorable  reception  of  this  peti- 

1  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

2  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  288.     Spencer. 


118    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

tion  were  dashed  in  January  when  the  Boston  Post  Boy 
brought  out  an  extra  with  the  King's  speech  to  Parliament 
representing1  the  townsfolk  "in  a  state  of  disobedience 
to  all  law  and  government."  Henry  Stanley,2  speaking 
in  the  Commons,  said  their  acts  "called  loudly  for  ... 
correction.  .  .  .  The  difficulties  in  governing  Massachu 
setts  are  insurmountable,  unless  its  charter  and  laws  shall 
be  so  changed  as  to  give  to  the  King  the  appointment  of 
the  Council  and  to  the  sheriffs  the  sole  power  of  returning 
juries."  Lord  Barrington  asserted2  "the  Americans  were 
worse  than  traitors  against  the  Crown,  traitors  against  the 
legislature  of  Great  Britain."  "We  have  but  one  word," 
Ex-Governor  Pownall  wrote  l  despairingly  to  Dr.  Cooper, 
"I  will  not  call  it  an  idea,  —  that  is,  our  sovereignty; 
and  it  is  like  some  word  to  a  madman  which,  whenever 
mentioned,  throws  him  into  his  ravings,  and  brings  on  a 
paroxysm." 

There  was  little  to  be  hoped  for  from  the  ministry. 
Shelburne  had  been  turned  out  because  of  too  liberal  views, 
and,  since  Townshend's  death  in  1767,  at  the  early  age  of 
forty-one,  the  office  of  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  had 
devolved  on  the  eldest  son  of  the  Earl  of  Guilford,  Lord 
North.  When  Alderman  Beckford2  cried,  "Let  the  nation 
return  to  its  good  old  nature  and  its  old  good  humor;  it 
were  best  to  repeal  the  late  acts  and  conciliate  the  Colonies 
by  moderation  and  kindness,"  Lord  North2  cried:  "There 
has  been  no  proof  of  any  real  return  of  friendship  on  the 
part  of  the  Americans;  they  will  give  you  no  credit  for  affec 
tion.  ...  If  America  is  to  be  the  judge,  you  must  tax  in 
no  instance!  ...  I  am  against  repealing  the  last  act  of 
Parliament,  securing  to  us  a  revenue  out  of  America!  I 
will  never  think  of  repealing  it,  until  I  see  America  pros 
trate  at  my  feet."  Even  Camden  recommended  if  a  repeal 
was  thought  of,  Boston  should  be  excepted  from  its  provi 
sions.  "There  is  no  pretence  for  violence  anywhere,"  said 

1  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

2  Our  Country,  II,  667.     Lossing. 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD  119 

he,1  "but  at  Boston;  that  is  the  ringleading  Province;  and 
if  any  country  is  to  be  chastised  the  punishment  ought  to 
be  levelled  there." 

Well  might  Shippen  mourn1  in  the  Gazette:  "To  assert 
the  most  undoubted  rights  of  human  nature,  and  of  the 
British  Constitution  they  term  faction;  and  having  embar 
rassed  a  free  government  by  their  impolitic  measures,  they 
fly  to  military  power."  All  Englishmen,  however,  were 
not  of  the  same  mind,  and  Thomas  Hollis  wrote  with  a 
juster  appreciation  of  the  truth:1  "The  people  of  Boston 
and  of  Massachusetts  Bay  are,  I  suppose,  take  them  as 
a  body,  the  soberest,  most  knowing,  virtuous  people,  at 
this  time  upon  earth.  All  of  them  hold  Revolutionary 
principles,  and  were  to  a  man,  till  disgusted  by  the  Stamp 
Act,  the  stanchest  friends  to  the  House  of  Hanover  and 
subjects  of  King  George  III." 

Through  the  winter  the  controversy  raged  on  without 
interruption.  Edmund  Burke  2  strongly  opposed  the  op 
pressive  measures;  even  Grenville  declared  it  was  illegal  to 
insist  on  the  rescinding  of  the  circular  letter.  Lord  North 
and  Lord  Hillsborough,  on  the  contrary,  wished  to  reduce 
the  unruly  Colony  to  utter  subjection,  and  the  Duke  of 
Bedford,  supported  by  Lord  Mansfield,  thought  the  best 
course  would  be  to  revive  an  obsolete  statute  of  Henry  VIII. 
and  to  seize  the  Boston  ringleaders  and  carry  them  off 
among  strangers  in  England  for  trial  as  traitors.  Hills- 
borough  had  already  written  to  Bernard, 1  "If  any  man  or 
set  of  men  have  been  daring  enough  to  declare  openly  that 
they  will  not  submit  to  the  authority  of  Parliament,  it  is 
of  great  consequence  that  his  Majesty's  servants  should 
know  who  and  what  they  are."  Lord  Barrington1  was 
hopeful  that  five  or  six  arrests,  all  at  Boston,  would  be 
sufficient.  "The  talk  is  strong  of  bringing  them  over  and 
trying  them  by  impeachment,"  wrote 3  Jasper  Mauduit, 

^rothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

2  Life  of  Hutchinson,  145.     Hosmer. 

3  Samuel  Adams,  46.     Fallows. 


120    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

from  London,  to  Hutchinson;  "do  you  write  me  word  of 
their  being  seized,  and  I  will  send  you  an  account  of  their 
being  hanged."  Burke  indignantly  protested:  "Can  you 
not  trust  the  juries  of  that  country?  If  you  have  not  a 
party  among  two  millions  of  people,  you  must  either  change 
your  plans  of  government,  or  renounce1  the  Colonies  for 
ever."  Ex-Governor  Pownall  likewise  vainly  strove  against 
the  resolution,  which  passed  the  Commons  early  in  the  New 
Year  by  161  yeas  to  65  nays. 

In  February,  a  strong  ministerial  majority  in  the  Lords 
pronounced  the  Boston  meetings  of  June  14th  and  September 
12th  illegal,  and  the  Governor  was  called  upon  for  a  full 
report  of  all  treasonable  and  suspicious  acts  since  December, 
1767,  with  the  offenders'  names,2  that  they  might  be 
brought  over-seas.  Nothing  could  have  afforded  Bernard 
greater  satisfaction.  On  one  day  we  find  him2  assuring 
Hillsborough  "a  chief  of  the  faction  said  he  was  always  for 
gentle  measures;  for  he  was  only  for  driving  the  Governor 
and  Lieutenant-Governor  out  of  the  Province,  and  taking 
the  government  into  their  own  hands.  Judge,  my  Lord, 
what  must  be  the  measures  proposed  by  others,  when  this  is 
called  a  gentle  measure."  The  next  day  he  tattles  as  to 
Edes  and  Gill,2  "they  may  be  said  to  be  no  more  than 
mercenary  printers  but  they  have  been  and  still  are  the 
trumpets  of  sedition."  He  then  proposes  that  they  should 
be  seized,  and  forwards  a  file  of  their  journal  from  August 
14th,  1767,  for  inspection. 

In  the  middle  of  February  the  selectmen  desired  to 
know  whereof  they  had  been  accused.2  "If  you  can  vin 
dicate  yourselves,"  retorted  the  Governor,  "from  such 
charges  as  may  arise  from  your  own  publications,  you  will 
in  my  opinion  have  nothing  further  to  apprehend."  They 
then  pressed  the  Governor  to  tell  them  wherein  any  public 
transactions  had  exceeded  the  law.  No  specific  charge 
could  be  lodged,  and  that  the  town  knew  well.  Bernard 

1  Samuel  Adams,  45.     Fallows. 

2Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD 

had  been  unable  to  lay  before  Hillsborough  a  single  act  that 
amounted  to  actual  treason,  although,1  as  he  writes,  "many 
approached  very  near  to  it." 

Spring  opened  at  length,  and  one  windy  day  in  March 
the  people  of  Providence2  read  on  their  Liberty  Tree  an 
appeal  by  Sam  Adams  in  which  he  is  said  to  have  first 
intimated  the  possibility  of  coming  strife.  "I  cannot  but 
think,"  so  it  concludes,  "that  the  conduct  of  Old  England 
towards  us  may  be  permitted  by  Divine  Wisdom  and 
ordained  by  the  unsearchable  providence  of  the  Almighty, 
for  hastening  a  period  dreadful  to  Great  Britain."  We  can 
believe  he  came  slowly  to  the  conviction  that  nothing  short 
of  Independence  could  afford  the  Colonies  permanent  relief. 
Few  at  this  date  were  prepared  to  go  the  same  length. 
Even  later,  —  as  we  learn  from  a  tavern  keeper's  wife,  Mrs. 
Burroughs,3  who  had  hidden  in  a  closet  and  listened  to  one 
of  the  liberty  councils,  —  Adams  struggled  single-handed 
against  the  doubts  and  fears,  prejudices  and  illusive  hopes 
of  his  closest  associates. 

At  the  annual1  town  meeting  in  March,  Otis,  Sam 
Adams,  Gushing,  Richard  Dana,  Joseph  Warren,  John 
Adams,  and  Samuel  Quincy  were  chosen  a  committee  to 
prepare  an  address  to  the  King.  The  removal  of  the  troops 
was  requested,  and  attention  called  to  the  fact  that  no 
prisoner  had  been  rescued  and  grievous  duties  had  been 
paid.  Great  confidence  was  expressed  in  his  Majesty's 
wisdom  and  the  justice  of  Parliament,  notwithstanding  the 
misrepresentation  they  suffered  under.  They  ended  by  ask 
ing  that  the  Governor's  entire  correspondence  might  be 
made  public,  certain  compromising  letters  having  come  to 
light  and  aroused  widespread  distrust  and  resentment. 

While  these  doings  were  still  on  men's  tongues,  there 
was  fresh  cause 4  for  excitement.  On  the  morning  of  April 

1  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

2  Samuel  Adams,  45.     Fallows. 

3  Life  of  Revere,  I,  113.     Goss. 

4  Annals,  212-16.     Morse. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

,  the  Rose  frigate,  twenty  guns,  commanded  by  Cap 
tain  Benjamin  Caldwell,  later  an  Admiral,  was  cruising 
some  seven  leagues  off  Cape  Ann1  when  the  Pitt  packet, 
owned  by  Mr.  Hooper  of  Marblehead,  came  in  sight,  on 
her  return  voyage  from  Bilboa  with  a  cargo  of  Cadiz  salt. 
By  about  six  o'clock  the  packet  had  come  abreast  of  the 
Rose,  when  suddenly2  two  swivels  and  a  gun  were  dis 
charged,  and  she  brought  to.  Lieutenant  Panton  and  a 
midshipman  were  at  once  sent  off  in  command  of  a  press 
gang  to  board  her  and  seize  recruits.  Running  his  eye 
over  the  crew  mustered  on  deck,  Lieutenant  Panton  asked 
the  skipper,  Thomas  Power  (Poor),  "Are  here  all?"  He 
made  no  reply.  Going  into  the  cabin,  Panton  next  asked 
for  the  ship's  papers.2  A  bill  of  health,  only,  was  shown 
and  he  now  learned  there  were  eight  men  aboard.  Having 
asked  for  the  log  book,  Panton  told  the  skipper  to  see  that 
his  hatches  were  uncovered  and  then  ordered  the  midship 
man,  Mr.  Peacock,  to  take  two  of  his  men  and  search  the 
main  hold.  Nothing  was  amiss  here;  tramping  forward, 
however,  a  scuttle  was  noticed  in  the  forepeak  and  lifted, 
disclosing2  four  men  below,  armed  with  a  hatchet,  harpoon, 
fishgig,  and  musket. 

Panton  urged  them  to  come  out  and  make  way  for  his 
search-party,  but  the  men  said  they'd  die  where  they  were 
first.  A  second  time  he  asked  them  to  come  out  peaceably, 
and  was  answered,  "If  you  use  force,  your  lamp  shall  go 
out  first."  Hearing  this,  the  cutter  pushed  off  for  help. 
And  Panton,  as  if  concerned  solely  with  the  cargo,  held 
out  a  candle  and  asked  one  of  the  sailors  to  tilt  it2  so  he 
might  see  in.  One  of  them  turned  it  about  where  he  stood, 
but  the  opening  was  cramped  and  dark  and  the  lieutenant 
again  attempted  to  go  down.  The  crew  standing  about 
now  interfered,  and  when  Panton  asked  for  the  loan  of  an 
axe  to  break  the  bulkhead  in,  told  him  they'd  sooner  lend 
it  to  scalp  him. 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  May  1,  1769. 

2  Boston  Chronicle,  April  27  to  May  1,  1769. 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD  123 

Hot  words  followed,  ended  at  last  by  one  of  the  crew 
marking  a  line  and  forbidding  the  lieutenant  to  cross  it 
at  his  peril.  With  a  half  contemptuous  smile  Panton 
drew  out  his  snuff-box1  and  told  the  skipper  curtly  he  had 
ten  minutes  in  which  to  make  up  his  mind  whether  he  would 
surrender  the  sailors  or  no.  The  moments  ran  by.  On  the 
one  side  stood  the  haughty  young  officer  in  his  glittering 
gold  lace,  backed  by  sturdy  man-o'-war's  men;  on  the  other 
the  Marblehead  crew,  bronzed  by  their  southern  cruise. 
When  the  time  was  up  and  the  men  still  refused  to  sur 
render  themselves,  Panton  cried  sharply,  "Fire,"  and  the 
midshipman,  aiming  at  random,  broke  one  of  the  sailors' 
arms.  At  the  same  instant  the  lieutenant,  pressing  forward 
across  the  line,  had  his  jugular  vein  severed  by  a  harpoon 
hurled  by  Corbett.  As  he  fell,  mortally  wounded,  Corbett 
was  almost  blinded  by  receiving  a  pistol  charge  of  powder 2 
full  in  the  face.  In  the  lull  that  followed,  Peacock  and 
a  couple  of  men  carried  Panton  below  to  the  cabin,1  where 
he  soon  died.  For  the  moment  the  boarders  held  back,  but 
reinforcements  were  presently  sent  from  the  frigate,  and 
in  the  end  the  four  sailors  were  dragged  away  in  irons 
to  stand  trial  before  the  Court  of  Admiralty  for  piracy 
and  murder  on  the  high  seas.  The  packet  was  then  taken 
in  charge  by  Captain  Caldwell  and  the  lieutenant's  body 
taken  to  Boston  for  burial.2 

The  trial  came  off  in  June  before3  Governor  Bernard; 
Governor  Wentworth  of  New  Hampshire;  the  Judge  of 
Admiralty,  Auchmuty;  Commodore  Hood  (Sir  Samuel, 
later  Admiral,  Hood,  of  the  navy,  whose  huge  nose  once 
caused  a  child,  blamed  for  staring,  to  exclaim,  "La!  Ma!  I 
can't  help  it!"),4  and  fifteen  counsellors,  among  whom5 
were  Hon.  Jona.  Warner  and  George  Jaffrey,  Esq.,  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Council;  Hon.  John  Andrews,  Esq.,  Judge 

1  Boston  Chronicle,  April  27  to  May  1,  1769. 

2  Boston  Evening  Post,  May  1,  1769. 

3  Annals,  213.     Morse. 

4  The  source  for  this  has  not  been  found. 

5  Evening  Post,  June  19,  1769. 


124     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

of  the  Court  of  Vice-Admiralty  of  Rhode  Island;  Andrew 
Oliver,  Secretary  of  Massachusetts;  Joseph  Harrison, 
Collector  of  Customs  in  Boston;  John  Nutting,  Collector 
for  Salem;  and  Robert  Trail,  Collector  for  Portsmouth. 
The  Crown  was  represented  by  Jonathan  Sewall,  and  the 
sailors  by  their  counsel,  John  Adams.  Adams  tells1  us, 
before  either  side  could  speak,  Hutchinson,  who  seemed 
"hurried  between  his  terrors  of  the  Crown  and  dread  of 
unpopularity,"  started  up  and  with  a  countenance  "expres 
sive  of  the  designs  and  passions,  the  fears  and  apprehensions, 
that  agitated  and  tormented  his  soul,  moved  that  the  court 
should  adjourn  to  the  Council  Chamber."  The  counsel 
and  audience  were  dismissed,  and  the  court  remained 
till  late  in  the  evening  in  secret  conclave  and  again  the 
following  morning. 

When  the  Court  opened,  Governor  Bernard  pronounced 
that  the  sailors'  plea  for  a  jury  was  granted.  Witnesses 
were  then  called,  and  those  of  either  side  agreed  in  their 
tale,  after  which  Adams  took  the  floor.  He  says:1  "I 
had  ransacked  every  writer  on  the  civil  law  that  the  town 
of  Boston  possessed;  examined  every  authority  in  the  laws 
of  England  upon  the  subject;  and,  superadded  to  all, brought 
forward  that  volume  of  the  British  statutes  at  large  [the 
only  copy  at  that  time  in  Massachusetts,  a  set  imported 
for  the  prisoners]1  which  contained  the  Act  of  Parliament 
which  expressly  prohibited  the  impressment  of  seamen  in 
America.  All  these  books  were  piled  up  on  the  table  in 
the  face  of  the  court."  He  opened  by  saying  he  should  show 
the  act  to  have  been  "nothing  more  than  justifiable  homi 
cide,  in  necessary  self-defence.99  At  these  words1  Hutch 
inson  rose  hastily  and  moved  the  Court  be  adjourned  to 
the  Council  Chamber,  where  it  remained  closeted  the  rest 
of  the  day.  The  following  day,  Governor  Bernard,  the 
president  of  the  court,  "arose  and  with  a  countenance  so 
solemn  and  so  gloomy  as  made  the  audience  shudder, 

1  Annals,  213-6.     Morse. 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD 

announced  to  the  prisoners  by  name  l  [Michael  Corbett, 
Pierce  Penning,  Win.  Conner,  and  John  Ryan]:  the  Court 
have  considered  the  evidence  in  support  of  the  libel  against 
you,  and  are  unanimously  of  opinion  that  it  amounts  only 
to  justifiable  homicide.  You  are  accordingly  acquitted, 
and  discharged  from  your  imprisonment."  Not  another 
word  was  said,  except  by  Mr.  Auchmuty,  the  Judge  of 
Admiralty,  who  cried  out,  "The  court  is  unanimous  in 
this  opinion."  As  Adams  left  the  building,  at  the  foot  of 
the  stairway,  the  boatswain  of  the  Rose  came  frankly  for 
ward,  and  said,2  "Sir,  we  are  all  greatly  obliged  to  you  for 
your  noble  conduct  in  defence  of  these  brave  fellows;  yet, 
Sir,  this  is  the  employment  in  which  I  have  been  almost 
constantly  engaged  for  twenty  years,  fighting  with  honest 
men  to  deprive  them  of  their  liberty.  I  always  thought 
I  ought  to  be  hanged  for  it,  and  now  I  know  it." 

Meanwhile  the  Hon.  Alexander  MacKay,  M.P.,  colonel 
of  the  65th  regiment,  had  arrived,  April  30th,  and  taken 
command  of  the  Castle.  A  few  days  later  the  election  of 
representatives  took  place,  and  acting  upon  a  suggestion 
from  the  selectmen,  by  his  orders  the  soldiers  were  confined 3 
to  their  barracks.  The  general  tone  of  the  several  repre 
sentatives'  instructions4  may  be  gathered  from  those 
given  to  Joshua  Orne  and  John  Gallison  by  the  little  town 
of  Marblehead,  which  ran  in  part: 

"  (1)  .  .  .  endeavor  to  have  removed  everything  that 
has  the  least  tendency  to  awe  or  control  the  freedom  of 
debate.  .  .  . 

"  (2)  to  the  utmost  of  your  ability  .  .  .  promote  every 
measure  which  may  heal  the  unhappy  breach  with  our 
mother  country,  and  endeavor  to  have  things  once  more 
placed  upon  their  ancient  footing;  to  which  end  use  your 
best  endeavors  to  refute  the  misrepresentations  which 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  May  29,  1769. 

2  Annals,  215.     Morse. 

8  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

4  History  and  Traditions  of  Marblehead,  91.  Samuel  Roads,  Jr.  Marble- 
head,  1897:  press  of  N.  Allen  Lindsey  &  Co. 


126    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

have  been  made  of  the  Province  to  the  government  at 
home.  .  .  . 

"  (3)  That  you  by  no  means  comply  with  any  requisi 
tion  demanding  a  reimbursement  for  any  part  of  the  charges 
sustained  by  the  bringing  of  troops  into  this  Province; 
as  we  cannot  conceive  to  what  purpose  they  were  intro 
duced."  .  .  . 

At  the  end  of  the  month  the  Legislature  met.  Of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  members,  Bernard  reported  not  above 
ten  could  be  counted  on  as  friends  to  Government.  At  nine 
o'clock,  after  being  sworn  in,  the  court  proceeded  to  the 
choice  of  a  clerk,  the  Speaker,  and  twenty-eight  councillors. 
At  ten,  the  Governor  held  a  reception l  at  the  Province  House 
and  at  noon  he  attended  at  the  Council  Chamber,  approved 
of  the  Speaker,  and  accompanied  the  House  to  an  Election 
Sermon  at  the  Old  Brick  Church,  after  which  the  ceremonies 
of  the  day  concluded  with  a  dinner  at  Faneuil  Hall. 

With  regard  to  the  new  councillors,  Bernard  wrote,1  by 
a  snow  bound  for  Glasgow,  "I  have  negatived  eleven, 
among  which  are  two  old  Councillors,  Brattle  and  Bow- 
doin,  the  managers  of  all  the  late  opposition  in  the  Council 
to  the  King's  government.  There  is  not  now  one  man  in 
the  Council  who  has  either  power  or  spirit  to  oppose  the 
faction;  and  the  friends  of  government  are  so  thin  in  the 
House,  that  they  wont  attempt  to  make  any  opposition; 
so  that  Otis,  Adams,  etc.,  are  now  in  full  possession  of  this 
government."  It  is  said2  that  the  liberal  party  in  Boston 
were  informed  from  time  to  time  by  Junius  Americanus 
in  London  of  what  was  impending,  by  letters  disguised  in 
coarse  paper  wrappings  addressed  to  Thomas  Bromfield, 
Glover;  by  which  means  they  could  readily  checkmate  the 
Governor's  moves.  Nearly  at  the  end  of  his  patience, 
Bernard  urged  the  Legislature  to  "save  time  and  money  by 
expedition;"  3  who  replied  through  Sam  Adams:  "No  Time 

1  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

2  American  Revolution,  I,  275.     Gordon. 

3  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  189.     Higgins. 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD  127 

can  be  better  employed  than  in  the  preservation  of  the  rights 
derived  from  the  British  Constitution,  and  insisting  upon 
points  which,  though  your  Excellency  may  consider  them  as 
non-essential,  we  esteem  its  best  bulwarks.  No  treasure 
can  be  better  expended  than  in  securing  that  true  old  English 
liberty  which  gives  such  a  zest  to  every  other  employment." 
Upon  the  King's  birthday  the  Governor  held  a  reception 
at  the  Province  House,  the  14th,  29th,  and  64th  regiments 
paraded  on  the  Common,  and  a  ball  was  given  in  the  even 
ing  at  Concert  Hall.  The  festivities1  were  barely  at  an 
end  when  despatches  were  received  from  England  empower 
ing  Gage  to  use  his  discretion  in  regard  to  the  removal  of 
the  troops.  On  the  top  of  this,  the  Governor  was  ordered 
to  return  home  and  give  an  account  of  his  stewardship. 
A  disquieting  whisper  ran  about  that  Grenville  had  sent 
Commissioner  Temple  word  that  Bernard  was  out  of  favor 
and  a  speedy  dissolution  of  the  Board  of  Customs 
might  be  looked  for.  The  64th  and  65th  regiments  were 
immediately  hurried  off  to  Halifax  by  Gage,  and  Bernard 
was  desired  to  state  in  writing  what  should  be  done  with 
the  two  left  behind.1  At  this  time  a  general  guard-house 
stood  at  the  head  of  King  Street,  opposite  the  southerly 
windows  of  the  Town-house.  When  the  Assembly  settled 
down  to  business  they  were  incensed  at  the  sight  of  cannon 
trained  to  command  the  doorway  by  which  they  passed 
in  and  out.  The  interruption  from  squads,  marching  to 
and  from  their  posts,  was  incessant,  and  the  members  com 
plained  to  the  Governor,  praying  that  they  might  be  re 
lieved  of  the  soldiers'  presence,  at  least  during  the  session. 
"An  armament  by  sea  and  land  investing  the  metropolis," 
they  objected,2  "is  inconsistent  with  that  dignity,  as  well 
as  that  freedom,  with  which  we  have  a  right  to  deliberate, 
consult,  and  determine."  Pending  a  reply,  all  proceedings 
were  suspended.  This  protest  was  accompanied  by  one 
from  one  hundred  and  forty-two  citizens  1  urging  that  the 

1  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

2  Annals,  153-4.     Morse. 


128    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

troops  should  be  totally  withdrawn.  Bernard  durst  not 
be  left  without  military  support,  however,  although  he 
wrote  to  Gage  he  was  willing  one  of  the  regiments  should 
be  stationed  in  the  harbor.  That  being  the  case,  Gage 
decided  both  should  remain  in  town.  At  the  same  time 
a  compromise  was  effected  with  the  Legislature,  which 
adjourned,  June  16th,  to  Cambridge  and  held  its  meetings 
in  the  College  Chapel,  where  a  resolve  was  straightway 
passed,1  "That  whoever  gave  order  for  Quartering  even 
Common  Soldiers  and  Camp  Women  in  the  Court-house 
in  Boston,  and  in  the  Representatives  Chamber,  where 
some  of  the  principal  Archives  of  the  Government  had  been 
usually  deposited,  making  a  Barrack  of  the  same,  placing 
a  Main  Guard  with  cannon  pointed  near  the  said  House 
and  Sentinel  at  the  Door,  designed  a  high  Insult  and  a 
triumphant  Indication  that  the  Military  power  was  Master 
of  the  whole  Legislative." 

In  a  petition  to  the  King  they  further  complained  of 
the  grievance  that  councillors  and  justices  of  the  courts 
should  "be  daily  interrupted  and  even  challenged  in  their 
Proceeding  to  the  business  of  their  Several  Departments."  2 

Thinking  that  a  more  tactful  Governor  would  materially 
promote  a  good  understanding,  the  representatives  ven 
tured  to  petition  for  Bernard's  recall.  At  this  stage  the 
Governor  came  before  them  and  announced  briefly  that  he 
was  on  the  eve  of  sailing  for  England,  but  he  should  expect 
an  appropriation3  made  for  his  salary  as  usual.  He  then 
presented  Gage's  statement  of  expenses  incurred  in  housing 
the  troops,  and  demanded  an  immediate  settlement  with  a 
liberal  provision  for  the  future,  and  took  his  leave.  The 
members  felt  they  could  oblige  in  neither  particular  con 
sistent  with  their  duty  to  their  constituents. 

Otis,  looking  into  the  grave  and  troubled  faces  before 

1  Antiquities,  763.     Drake. 

2  Re-dedication  of  the  Old  State  House,  Boston,  July  11,  1882,  221.      Boston, 
1889.     Printed  by  Order  of  the  Council. 

*  Annals,  154.     Morse. 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD  129 

him,  offered1  what  encouragement  he  could.  "The  times 
are  dark  and  trying,"  said  he.  "We  may  soon  be  called 
on  in  turn  to  act  or  to  suffer.  You  should  study  and  emu 
late  the  models  of  ancient  patriotism.  To  you  your  coun 
try  may  one  day  look  for  support,  and  you  should  recollect 
that  the  noblest  of  all  duties  is  to  serve  that  country,  and 
if  necessary  to  devote  your  lives  in  her  cause."  Nerved  by 
his  words,  when  called  upon  a  few  days  later  for  a  final 
answer,  the  House  replied2  without  hesitation:  "Of  all  the 
new  regulations,  the  Stamp  Act  not  excepted,  this  under 
consideration  is  most  excessively  unreasonable.  Your  Ex 
cellency  must  therefore  excuse  us  in  this  express  declara 
tion,  that,  as  we  cannot  consistently  with  our  honor  and 
interest,  much  less  with  the  duty  we  owe  to  our  constituents, 
so  we  never  will,  make  provision  for  the  purposes  in  your 
several  messages  above  mentioned." 

This  letter  despatched,  the  case  of  a  prisoner  rescued 
by  the  soldiers  was  brought  up  for  discussion,  and  an  inves 
tigating  committee  had  just  been  appointed  when  Secre 
tary  Oliver  brought  word  that  the  Governor  was  at  the 
Court-house  and  desired  their  presence.  When  the  whole 
body,3  with  the  Speaker  at  their  head,  had  arrived,  he, 
without  ado,  told  the  members  the  Court  stood  prorogued 
until  January,  1770.  On  the  Monday  of  the  following  week, 
Captain  Reed,  in  command  of  Hancock's  late  ship,  the 
Liberty,  seized  a  Connecticut  brig  and  sloop  in  the  Sound 
and  carried  them  into  Newport.4  Wednesday,  the  captain 
of  the  brig  went  aboard,  in  Captain  Reed's  absence,  for 
his  clothing,  and  was  told  his  kit  had  been  shifted  to  the 
Liberty.  He  ordered  the  men  not  to  strip  the  vessel.  They 
gave  him  nothing  but  abuse,  and  when  he  would  have 
reclaimed  his  sword,  temporarily  laid  aside,  withheld  it. 
Finally,  as  he  rowed  off  with  two  more,  he  was  fired  upon. 

1  James  Otis  the  Pre- Revolutionist,  73.     John    Clark    Ridpath,  LL.D.     The 
Patriot  Series.     Chicago,  1898:  The  University  Association. 

2  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  292-3.     Spencer. 

3  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 

4  Historical  Address  at  Newport,  34-5.     Sheffield. 


130    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

This  so  enraged  the  people  they  set  upon  the  Liberty,  cut  her 
cables,  dragged  her  to  the  wharf,  laid  her  mast  by  the  board, 
scuttled  her  bottom,  and  burnt  the  wreckage  at  the  northerly 
end  of  Goat  Island.  The  ship's  boats  were  drawn  up  to  the 
Parade  so  swiftly  over  the  rough  cobbles  they  are  said  to  have 
left  a  wake  of  sparks.  At  last,  after  being  carried  up  Broad 
Street,  they  were  finally  thrown  into  a  bonfire  in  Liberty 
Park,  at  the  head  of  Thames  Street.  During  the  commotion 
the  captured  brig  weighed  anchor  and  swept  out  of  the 
bay.  Her  cargo  had  been  regularly  entered,  it  had  been  a 
mistake,  from  the  first,  to  seize  her,  and  so  no  pursuit 
was  attempted. 

August  1st,  Governor  Bernard  set  sail  in  the  Ripon, 
man-o'-war.  A  graduate  of  Oxford,  where  his  portrait 
by  Copley *  can  still  be  seen  in  the  lecture-room  of  the  Old 
or  Little  Library  at  Christ  Church,  he  had  shown  his  inter 
est  in  the  Provincial  college1  by  designing  Harvard  Hall. 
In  1762  his  popularity  was  such  the  grateful  Colony  made 
him  a  grant  of  Mount  Desert  Island,1  and  Winchendon 
township  received  its  name  in  compliment  to  Nether  Win 
chendon,  Bucks,  where  Bernard  held  an  estate.  Massa 
chusetts  was  glad  to  honor  him  then,  but  these  days  had 
passed.  Rowe  relates,  "The  flagg  hoisted  on  Liberty  Tree, 
the  bells  ringing  great  joy  to  the  people,  a  great  bonfire  in 
King  Street  and  Fort  Hill."  He  had  been  Governor  nine 
years,  and  this  was  its  finish.  And  yet  not  a  finish  either 
—for  his  zeal  brought  him  a  pension  of  £1000  a  year  and 
a  title.  Whereupon  the  Gazette  broke  out:  "Your  promo 
tion,  Sir,  reflects  an  honor  on  the  Province  itself  —  an 
honor  which  has  never  been  conferred  upon  it  since  the 
thrice  happy  administration  of  Sir  Edmond  Andros  of 
precious  memory,  who  was  also  a  Baronet. ": 

From  the  manuscript  reminiscences  of  little  Julia  Ber 
nard,  now  in  Australia,  we  have  a  pleasant  picture1  of  the 

1  The   Bernards  of   Abington,    II,    235;    I,    330,    318-19;    II,  73,  70,  74-5. 
Higgins. 

2  Frothingham.     Atlantic  Monthly,  August,  1862. 


Gov.  FRANCIS  BERNARD 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD  131 

family  home  life.  She  tells  us  her  mother  used  to  have 
the  children  in  to  read  the  big  Bible  to  her  in  her  sitting- 
room  each  morning.  They  also  learned  selections  by  heart 
from  Shakespeare  and  Milton,  and  read  essays  in  the  Spec 
tator,  Guardian,  and  Taller,  and  also  the  "World  Displayed" 
and  "Voyages,"  looking  up  the  places  referred  to  on  a  map. 
By  means  of  a  large  Orrery  the  course  of  the  seasons  and 
planets  was  explained,  and  she  practised  Handel  and  Cor- 
relli  faithfully  on  the  harpsichord.  In  winter  the  roads 
were  at  their  best  and  they  went  off  in  sleighing  parties, 
twenty  together.  When  at  the  Castle  in  hot  weather,  she 
speaks  of  being  "dipped"  in  the  sea  and  also  of  the  twelve- 
oared  barge  which  bore  them  to  and  fro.  The  Jamaica 
Plain  home  had  fifty  acres  attached,  and  it  was  their  cus 
tom  to  move  out  in  May,  keeping  a  boat  on  the  pond,  and 
going  back  and  forth  to  town  by  their  own  coach  or  the 
boys'  whisky.  They  lived  in  considerable  state  at  the 
Province  House,  which  was  handsomely  furnished;  one  room 
having  a  dozen,  that  is,  a  set  of  crimson  damask  chairs  with 
carved  mahogany  frames,  and  window  curtains  and  cushions 
to  match.  The  dining-room  had  eight  mahogany  tables 
for  entertainment,  three  forming  a  horse-shoe  "for  benefit 
of  the  Fire"  in  winter,  and  six  sets  of  leather-bottomed 
chairs  for  dinner  parties,  rich  china  and  glass,  and  all  the 
appointments,  corresponding.  Upstairs,  the  bedroom  dra 
pery  varied  from  crimson  or  yellow  moreen,  to  blue  and  white 
chintz,  while  there  must  have  been  extensive  hot-houses, 
as  one  hundred  orange,  lemon,  fig,  and  cork  trees  are  men 
tioned  as  being  sold  upon  their  leaving.  All  came  to  them, 
they  went  to  no  one,  and  the  grown-up  brothers  alone 
walked  abroad  unattended.  Her  father  is  described  l  as 
looking  "fresh  and  handsome"  to  the  end  of  his  life.  On 
all  public  occasions  he  dressed  "superbly,"  and  as  for  her 
mother,  her  clothes  were  ornamented  with  gold  and  silver, 
ermine  and  sable,  after  the  most  approved  English  models. 
Upon  the  Governor's  departure,  the  Jamaica  Plain  house 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  I,  283,  281,  284,  287;  II,  240.     Higgins. 


132    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

was  let,  and  Lady  Bernard  and  the  children  removed  to 
"Cherry  House,"  near  Boston,  accompanied  by  Cato,  their 
black  slave,  and  the  negro  coachman.  When  they  finally 
followed  the  Governor  to  England,  December,  1770,  in 
order  to  enter  the  younger  boys  at  Harrow,  they  had  a 
most  uncomfortable,  tempestuous  voyage,  the  whole  row 
of  stern  windows  being  beaten  in  by  the  waves,  and  later 
were  all  but  wrecked  off  the  Needles,  besides  catching 
measles  at  Portsmouth  upon  landing,  and  all  falling  ill. 
Such  were  the  discomforts  of  eighteenth  century  travelling. 

As  for  Sir  Francis,  he  had  not  met  with  the  welcome  he 
had  expected,  and  really  merited,  as  a  staunch  upholder 
of  Government  measures,  so  that  what  with  disappointment 
and  vexation  he  was  fain  to  resign  his  Governorship  the 
moment  he  had  been  exonerated  1  of  all  blame. 

A  few  days  after  his  departure,  Rowe  attracted  atten 
tion  by  importing  some  porter  and  tells  us2  he  received  in 
consequence  a  "pretty  tight  lecture"  from  the  merchants. 

t  Monday,  August  14th,  on  the  "day  of  the  Union3  and 
rmly  combined  association  of  the  TRUE  SONS  OF  LIBERTY," 
the  members  were  honored  with  the  presence  of  Messrs. 
Joseph  Reed  and  Philemon  Dickinson  (the  brother  of 
John)  from  Philadelphia.4  Fourteen  toasts  were  drunk  at 
the  Liberty  Tree,  after  which  the  company,  three  hundred 
strong,  adjourned  for  dinner  at  Robinson's  Tavern,  the 
sign  of  the  Liberty  Tree  in  Dorchester,  where  three  pigs 
were  barbecued.  John  Adams  writes: 5  "We  had  two  tables 
laid  in  the  open  field,  by  the  barn,  with  between  three  and 
four  hundred  plates,  and  an  awning  of  sail  cloth  overhead, 
and  should  have  spent  a  most  agreeable  day  had  not  the 
rain  made  some  abatement  in  our  pleasures.  .  .  .  After 
dinner  was  over  and  the  toasts  drunk  [among  the  rest 
"The  speedy  Removal  of  all  Task-Masters  and  the  Redress 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  227-31.     Higgins. 

2  Diary,  August  4. 

3  Boston  Evening  Post,  August  21,  1769. 

4  Landmarks  of  Boston,  400.     Drake. 

5  Diary,  II,  218.     C.  F.  Adams. 


CONTENTIONS   WITH   GOVERNOR   BERNARD     133 

of  all  Grievances!"  "Strong  Halters,  Firm  Blocks,  and 
Sharp  Axes,  to  all  such  as  deserve  either!"]  we  were  diverted 
with  Mr.  Balch's  mimicry.  He  gave  us  the  lawyer's  head, 
and  the  hunting  of  a  bitch  fox.  .  .  .  To  the  honor  of  the 
Sons,  I  did  not  see  one  person  intoxicated,  or  near  it. 
Between  four  and  five  o'clock  the  carriages  [thirty-nine 
in  number]  were  all  got  ready,  and  the  company  rode  off 
in  procession  —  Mr.  Hancock  first,  in  his  chariot,  and  an 
other  chariot  [with  Mr.  Otis]  bringing  up  the  rear.  I  took 
my  leave  of  the  gentlemen,  and  turned  off  for  Taunton, 
oated  at  Doty's,  and  arrived  long  after  dark  at  Noice's; 
there  I  put  up.  I  should  have  been  at  Taunton,  if  I  had 
not  turned  back,  in  the  morning  from  Roxbury,  but  I  felt 
as  if  I  ought  not  to  lose  this  feast;  as  if  it  was  my  duty  to 
be  there."  The  Boston  Evening  Post1  ends  its  story  of  the 
day  tartly,  "Should  this  Account  overtake  the  Baronet 
of  Nettleham  on  this  side  T-b-n  [Tyburn],  he  and  Lord 
H — h  are  at  Liberty  to  write  77  volumes  of  their  High  Dutch 
and  low  Diabolical  commentaries  about  it  and  about  it." 

This  was  almost  the  last  public  appearance  of  Otis  in 
full  vigor.  Friday  morning,  September  1st,  at  half -past 
ten,  John  Robinson  was  told  2  at  the  Board  of  Customs  that 
Otis  had  called  to  see  him  and  Hulton.  When  Hulton  came 
in,  Green,  the  messenger,  was  sent  to  tell  Otis;  who  called 
at  the  south  door  and  spoke  with  Secretary  Reeve,  but 
said  he  would  not  enter.  Upon  hearing  this,  Hulton,  Reeve, 
and  Robinson  went  to  him,  "where,"  says  Robinson,  "I 
accosted  Mr.  Otis  and  Mr.  Sam  Adams,  who  was  with  him, 
thus:  Your  servant,  Gentlemen.  Pray  what  is  your  busi 
ness  with  us?"  Mr.  Otis  replied  he  wished  a  free  conversa 
tion  and  refused  to  walk  inside;  finally  said  it  had  to  do 
with  his  character,  and  that  he  was  to  meet  Burch  at  seven 
next  morning  [Saturday]  at  the  Coffee  House.  As  Rob 
inson  lived  in  the  country  and  had  four  miles  to  come,  he 
thought  that  early.  Hulton  said  he  should  find  the  same 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  August  21,  1769. 

2  Boston  Chronicle,  September  7-11,  1769. 


134     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

difficulty.  However,  thinking  it  over,  Robinson  felt  he 
should  rather  meet  Otis  in  Burch's  company  and  tried  to 
do  so,  but  arrived  just  in  time  to  see  Burch  leave. 

Going  inside  with  Reeve,  Robinson  found  Otis  in  the 
back  room.  Coming  forward,  he  greeted  Robinson  civilly 
and  invited  him  to  drink  a  dish  of  coffee  with  him  in 
another  room.  Supposing  he  had  Adams  with  him,  Robin 
son  suggested  Reeve  should  be  of  the  party,  but  finding 
he  was  alone  they  went  off  together.  Otis  then  made 
inquiries  about  the  letters  of  the  Board,  transmitted  through 
the  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Commons  and  Bollan,  recently 
made  public,  which  referred  to  him  as  a  traitor.  Robinson 
said  he  could  not  answer  for  individuals,  but  officially  he 
had  no  remembrance  of  his  name  appearing  in  the  corre 
spondence,  and  not  having  seen  the  copies,  he  naturally 
could  not  speak  for  their  accuracy.1  Otis  said  he  had 
answered  better  than  Burch.  He  then  explained  he  had 
questioned  the  commissioners  singly,  that  he  might  not  be 
construed  to  insult  the  Board  as  such.  He  next  asked  to 
what  department  "that  old  fellow  Harrison,  the  Collector, 
had  represented  him  as  disaffected."  This  question  Robin 
son  refused  to  answer,  and  they  parted  after  Robinson 
had  offered  to  "give  him  satisfaction  if  he  desired  it." 

On  Monday  a  letter  from  Otis  appeared  in  the  Boston 
Gazette  declaring  the  Commissioners  of  Customs,  to  wit: 
Henry  Hulton,  Charles  Paxton,  William  Burch,  John  Rob 
inson,  were  "scandalous  maligners"  in  representing  him  as 
"inimical  to  the  Crown,"  and  prayed  in  conclusion  that  "the 
Lord  Commissioners  of  his  Majesty's  Treasury,  his  prin 
cipal  Secretary  of  State,  particularly  my  Lord  Hillsborough, 
and  the  Board  of  Trade  .  .  .  pay  no  kind  of  regard  to  ... 
[statements  of]  the  said  Henry,  Charles,  William,  and  John 
or  their  confederates;  for  they  are  no  more  worthy  of  credit, 
than  those  of  Sir  Francis  Bernard  of  Nettleham,  Bart,  or 
any  of  his  cabal."  The  next  evening,  between  seven  and 
eight,  while  still  smarting  under  these  taunts,  Robinson 

1  Boston  Chronicle,  September  7-11,  1769. 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD  135 

went  to  the  British  Coffee  House  in  King  Street.  "Seeing 
Otis,"  as  he  entered,  "without  his  sword,"  he  says,  "I  went 
into  a  back  room,  where  I  laid  mine  aside  and  immediately 
returned  into  the  Public  room."  Here  he  turned  on  Otis, 
saying,  "Some  days  ago  you  wanted  a  free  conversation 
with  me;  now,  I  want  a  free  conversation  with  you."  "He 
immediately  stood  up  in  a  rage  and  said  he  was  ready  to 
answer  in  any  manner.  I  replied  'have  a  little  patience, 
and  let  me  ask  you  whether  I  did  not  repeatedly  tell  you, 
when  we  met  the  other  day,  that  if  I  had  done  you  any 
injury,  I  was  ready  to  give  you  that  satisfaction  you  had 
a  right  to  expect  from  a  Gentleman.  How  therefore  could 
you  publish  the  account  in  Edes  &  Gill's  paper  of  yester 
day?'  .  .  .  perceiving  that  he  frequently  menaced  me  with 
his  stick,  I  took  him,  or  at  least  attempted  to  take  him,  by 
his  nose."  A  youth  named  John  Gridley  happened1  to 
be  passing  at  the  time  and  saw  the  sparring  going  on. 
There  were  a  number  of  revenue  officers  about,  perhaps 
twenty  in  all,  some  of  whom  hustled  Otis;  and  Gridley, 
crying,  "That's  dirty  usage,"  ran  to  his  side.  Feeling  him 
self  seized  by  the  right  shoulder,  Gridley  shook  himself 
loose  and  got  Robinson  by  the  collar,  tearing  his  coat  down 
to  the  pockets  while  they  swayed  to  and  fro.  At  last  one 
of  Robinson's  party  leaped  on  a  bench  and  hit  Gridley  about 
the  head,  so  that  the  blood  streamed  over  his  eyes.  In 
trying  to  ward  off  a  second  blow,  he  had  his  right  wrist 
broken,  and  was  shoved  out  of  doors  "head  and  shoulders." 
The  cries  of  "Kill  him!"  were  redoubled,  and  Gridley, 
forgetful  of  all  else  but  Otis'  need,  made  his  way  in  once 
more.  As  Otis  seemed  somewhat  dazed  with  a  heavy  blow 
on  the  forehead,  Gridley  says  he  advised  him  to  go  into 
the  front  room  and  "set  down  and  compose  himself,"  which 
he  did  for  a  minute  or  two,  and  then  went  on,  to  get  his 
wounds  dressed.  Robinson's  party  had  already  escaped 
by  the  back  way,  leaving  the  floor  strewn  with  bludgeons 
and  an  empty  scabbard. 

1  Boston  Chronicle,  September  11-14,  1769. 


136     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Short  as  the  scuffle  had  been,  Otis'  injuries  were  such 
that  his  mind  became  affected  and  his  public  career  was  at 
an  end.  Four  months  later  John  Adams  writes1  of  him: 
"Otis  is  in  confusion  yet,  he  loses  himself,  he  rambles  and 
wanders  .  .  .  attempted  to  tell  a  story  which  took  up  all 
the  evening.  .  .  .  The  nervous,  the  concise,  and  pithy  were 
his  character  till  lately;  now,  the  verbose,  the  roundabout, 
and  rambling,  and  long  winded."  After  years  of  delay2 
the  courts  made  an  award  of  £2,000  damage,  a  claim  at 
once  waived  upon  Robinson's  offering  a  suitable  apology 
and  paying  the  doctor's  bill  and  costs,  £112  L.  M. 

A  letter3  written  by  James  Murray  throws  further  light 
on  the  incident: 

BOSTON,  September  30,  1769. 

No  doubt,  Sir,  you  have  seen,  in  the  public  papers,  the 
story  of  the  quarrel  between  Mr.  Robinson  and  Mr.  Otis, 
on  the  5th  inst.  In  that  affair  Mr.  W.  S.  Brown  [formerly 
of  Salem],  happened  to  strike  Mr.  Gridley,  who,  interfer 
ing  in  behalf  of  Mr.  Otis,  had  seized  Mr.  Robinson,  and 
torn  his  coat.  For  this  crime,  he,  Mr.  Brown,  was  unjustly 
charged  through  the  town  with  having  attacked  Mr.  Otis 
himself,  while  engaged  with  Mr.  Robinson,  and  was,  there 
fore,  to  be  treated  with  the  utmost  rigor.  In  order  to  this 
he  was  apprehended  on  the  6th  by  a  peace  officer  and 
carried  late  in  the  evening  before  two  justices,  Messrs. 
Dana  and  Pemberton,  in  Faneuil  Hall,  where  a  multitude 
assembled  ["about  2000"  by  Rowe's  reckoning]. 

I,  taking  a  walk  in  the  Town  House  that  evening,  was 
told  of  this  by  Mr.  Perkins,  and  consulting  my  feelings 
for  another's  distress  more  than  my  own  safety,  went 
directly  to  the  Hall  to  attend  the  proceedings. 

Soon  as  the  multitude  perceived  me  among  them,  they 
attempted  repeatedly  to  thrust  me  out,  but  were  prevented 

1  Diary,  II,  227.     C.  F.  Adams. 

2  Letters,  July  26,  1771.     Rowe.     Ed.  Cunningham. 

3  Letters  of  James  Murray,  159-62.     Ed.  Tiffany. 


JAMES  OTIS 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD  137 

by  Mr.  [Jonathan]  Mason,  one  of  the  selectmen,  calling 
out,  "For  shame,  Gentlemen,  do  not  behave  so  rudely." 
Then,  lending  me  his  hand,  helped  me  over  the  door  into 
the  selectmen's  seat.  Before  I  got  down  from  the  seat  I 
was  hiss'd.  I  bowed.  I  was  hiss'd  again,  and  bowed 
around  a  second  time.  Then  a  small  clap  ensued.  Com 
pliments  over,  I  sat  down.  The  justices  asked  me  up  to 
the  bench.  I  declined.  The  examination  of  some  evidence 
was  continued,  and,  being  finished,  the  justices  thought  fit 
to  bind  over  Mr.  Brown.  He  lookt  about  for  bail.  No  one 
offered  but  I.  Here  I  desired  the  justices  to  take  notice 
that  I  did  not  mean  by  this  offer  to  vindicate  what 
Mr.  Brown  had  done,  but  only  to  stand  by  him  now  the 
torrent  was  against  him.  The  recognizance  taken,  the 
justices  desired  the  people  to  disperse,  for  that  Mr.  Brown 
had  complied  with  the  law,  but  the  crowd,  intending  more 
sport,  still  remained. 

As  I  was  pressing  out  next  to  Mr.  Dana,  my  wig  was 
pulled  off,  and  a  pate,  clean  shaved  by  time  and  the  barber, 
was  left  exposed.  This  was  thought  a  signal  and  prelude 
to  further  insult,  which  would  probably  have  taken  place 
but  for  hurting  the  cause.  Going  along  in  this  plight,  sur 
rounded  by  the  crowd,  in  the  dark,  Lewis  Gray  took  hold 
of  my  right  arm  and  Mr.  William  Taylor  of  my  left,  and 
supported  me,  while  somebody  behind  kept  nibbling  at 
my  sides,  and  endeavoring  to  trip  me;  for  the  pleasure,  as 
may  be  supposed,  of  treading  the  reforming  justice  out  of 
me  by  the  multitude.  Mr.  Deblois  threw  himself  in  my 
rear,  and  suffered  not  a  little  in  my  defence.  Mr.  G. 
Hooper  went  before,  and  my  wig  disheveled,  as  I  was  told, 
was  borne  on  a  staff  behind.  The  Gentlemen,  my  friends 
and  supporters,  offer'd  to  house  me  near  the  Hall,  but  I 
insisted  on  going  home  in  the  present  trim,  and  was  by 
them  landed  in  safety,  Mr.  Gray  and  others  having  continu 
ally  admonished  my  retinue  in  the  way,  "no  violence,  or 
you'll  hurt  the  cause." 


138    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

The  same  week  the  Tory  paper  published  by  John 
Mein  of  the  London  book  shop,  on  King  Street,  came  out1 
with  a  statement  that  Thomas  Handasyd  Peck  had  imported 
counter  to  agreement.  On  Friday  a  box  lettered  "T.  H.  P. 
No.  5"  was  displayed  in  Mr.  Peck's  shop  window  labelled 
"This  is  the  Case  that  John  Mein  in  his  Paper  of  Yester 
day  says  contain'd  FORTY  DOZEN  of  Hatts,  imported  in 
the  Thomas,  William  Davis,  Master,  by  Thomas  Handasyd 
Peck.  Measurement  of  the  Box,  23  Inches  long,  14  Inches 
wide,  16  Inches  deep.  Boston,  Sept.  8,  1769.  N.  B.  There 
was  not  one  Hatt  in  the  Box.  QUERY,  Does  he  Lie  or  not?" 

At  noon1  Mr.  Peck,  accompanied  by  a  servant  carrying 
the  box,  and  the  Bellman,  went  into  King  Street,  and  the 
box  was  viewed,  first  between  the  British  Coffee  House  and 
the  Bunch  of  Grapes,  then  on  'Change,  and  at  the  west 
door  of  the  Town-house,  afterwards  before  Mein's  shop, 
and  lastly  in  Market  Square. 

October  was  marked  by  several  slight  disturbances1 
early  in  the  month.  A  Cambridge  butcher,  Jonathan 
Winship,  wras  set  upon  by  some  soldiers,  and  appealing  to 
Colonel  Dalrymple  next  day,  hat  in  hand,  had  the  cold 
comfort  of  being  told:  "You  was  saucy.  They  served  you 
right.  I  don't  care  if  they  knock  you  down  again."  A 
carter 1  belonging  in  L^pper  Charlestown,  on  the  other  hand, 
having  carried  some  tea  to  Marblehead  —  which  the  little 
town  with  conscious  virtue  returned  unopened  —  was  sent 
to  Coventry  by  his  neighbors  and  turned  out  of  a  husking 
frolic  with  contempt. 

On  the  last  Saturday2  of  the  month,  John  Mein  was 
reproached  for  a  recent  publication,  by  Captain  Dashwood 
and  others,  on  'Change,  and  so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  draw 
his  pistol  and  threaten  a  crowd  of  pursuing  boys.  On 
reaching  the  top  of  the  street,  he  bolted  into  Ezekiel  Price's 
office  and  fired  wild,  grazing  an  arm  of  the  sentry  (29th 
regiment)  stationed  at  the  Main  Guard.  The  same  after- 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  September  11.  October  2,  23,  1769. 

2  Diary,  October  28.     Rowe. 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD  139 

noon  a  man  lately  attached  to  the  revenue  cutter  Liberty, 
named  George  Greyer,  arrived  on  the  sloop  Success,  from 
Rhode  Island,  and  gave  information  of  there  being  a  couple 
of  casks  of  wine  on  board.  He  was  chased  to  a  house  by 
the  rabble,  and  imprudently  venturing  out  after  nightfall, 
was  immediately  seized,  tarred  on  the  bare  skin,  and  obliged 
to  ride  in  a  cart,  holding  a  large  glass  lanthorn,1  along  Main 
Street,  all  the  way  from  the  Town-house  to  Liberty  Tree, 
where  he  swore  that  he  would  never  make  bold  to  inform 
again.  On  Guy  Fawkes  Day  following,  Mein,  quite  natu 
rally,  was  burnt  in  effigy  on  Copps  Hill,  a  transparency, 
carried  before  him,  running: 

"I      nsulting  wretch,  we'll  him  expose, 

0  'er  the  whole  world  his  deeds  disclose; 
H     ell  now  gapes  wide  to  take  him  in, 

N     ow  he  is  ripe,  O  lump  of  sin ! 

M     ean  is  the  man,  M-n  is  his  name, 
E      nough  he's  spread  his  hellish  fame, 

1  nfernal  furies  hurl  his  soul 

N     ine  million  times  from  Pole  to  Pole."  2 

During  the  past  two  years,  1768-69,  the  English  imports 
had  decreased  so  materially,  in  November,  W.  Strahan, 
M.P.,  printer  to  the  King,  wrote  anxiously  to  Franklin, 
asking  what  could  be  done  to  put  things  on  a  sound,  happy 
footing  once  more.  Franklin3  dated  his  reply  from  Craven 
Street,  and  having  pointed  out  that,  "Our  former  kings 
governed  their  colonies  as  they  had  governed  their  domin 
ions  in  France,  without  the  participation  of  British  Par 
liaments,"  and  that  "the  Parliament  of  England  never 
presumed  to  interfere  in  that  prerogative  till  the  time  of 
the  great  rebellion,  when  they  usurped  the  government  of 
all  the  King's  other  dominions,  Ireland,  Scotland,  etc.," 
and  that  those  "that  held  for  the  King  [were]  governed 
afterwards  as  conquered  countries;  but  New  England  .  .  . 
was  considered  and  treated  as  a  sister  kingdom  in  amity 

1  Evening  Post,  October  30,  1769.         2  Antiquities,  773.     Drake. 
3  Annals,  157,  101.     Morse. 


140     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

with  England,"  he  goes  over  the  old  familiar  ground  of 
what  was  called  for,  although  he  owns  he  has  grave  doubts 
of  any  "thorough  redress  of  grievances  being  afforded  dur 
ing  the  coming  session."  "However,"  he  concludes,  "I 
hope  that  this  may  all  prove  false  prophecy,  and  that  you 
and  I  may  live  to  see  as  sincere  and  perfect  a  friendship 
established  between  our  respective  countries,  as  has  so  many 
years  subsisted  between  Mr.  Strahan,  and  his  truly  affec 
tionate  old  friend,  Benjamin  Franklin." 

Mindful  of  the  good  resulting  from  combined  action  in 
the  past,  the  non-importation  agreement  had  been  renewed 
in  the  different  colonies.  George  Washington  felt  strongly 
on  the  subject  and  wrote 1  to  the  London  correspondent  with 
whom  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  placing  his  orders:  "You 
will  perceive,  in  looking  over  the  several  invoices,  that 
some  of  the  goods  there  required  are  upon  condition  that 
the  act  of  Parliament  imposing  a  duty  on  tea,  paper,  &c. 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America,  is  totally 
repealed;  and  I  beg  the  favor  of  you  to  be  governed 
strictly  thereby,  as  it  will  not  be  in  my  power  to  receive 
any  articles  contrary  to  our  non-importation  agreement, 
which  I  have  subscribed,  and  shall  religiously  adhere  to, 
and  should,  if  it  were,  as  I  could  wish  it  to  be,  ten  times 
as  strict." 

George  Mason  wrote1  to  Washington,  "Our  all  is  at 
stake;  and  the  little  conveniences  and  comforts  of  life, 
when  set  in  competition  with  our  liberty,  ought  to  be  re 
jected,  not  with  reluctance,  but  with  pleasure."  Indeed  all 
Virginia  was  aroused,  and  when  the  spring  Assembly  was 
dissolved  by  Lord  Botetourt,  the  members  simply  adjourned 
to  a  private  house,  where  they  entered  heartily  into  Wash 
ington's  proposals.1  By  October,  all  but  four  of  the  Mar- 
blehead  merchants  had  signed  a  similar  pledge;  these  last 
were  denounced  as  "blindly  preferring  the  chains  of  slavery 
to  our  most  valuable  inheritance,  English  liberty."2 

1  Our  Country,  II,  670;  I,  658.     Lossing. 

2  History  of  Marblehead,  93.     Roads. 


BENJAMIN   FHAXKLI x 


CONTENTIONS  WITH  GOVERNOR  BERNARD  141 

There  was  something  ridiculous  in  all  this  earnestness 
at  first  to  the  friends  of  Government.  We  find  Mrs.  Henry 
Barnes,  of  Marlboro  ugh,  writing  to  James  Smith's  widow, 
then  in  Scotland,  respecting  the  little  shop1  opposite  the 
Old  Brick,  between  The  Buck  and  Glove  and  The  Sign  of 
the  Heart  and  Crown,  where  Ame  and  Elizabeth  Cummings 
offered  a  Neat  Assortment  of  lutestrings,  mantuas,  puffs, 
perfumes,  feathers,  Gentlemen's  paste,  hat  buckles,  tor 
toise  shell  wares,  snuff,  etc.,  etc.,  in  this  guise:2  "Oh  how  I 
long  to  have  one  Political  Laugh  with  you!  Would  you 
not  be  diverted  to  see  Squire  Barnes  and  the  two  little 
Miss  Cumingses  Posted  together  in  a  News  Paper  as  Enimys 
to  their  country?  Do,  Bless  you,  send  us  a  little  Dash  of 
Politicks  from  tother  side  the  water  that  we  may  see  some 
thing  that  has  the  appearance  of  Truth." 

New  York  was  considerably  exercised,  about  this  time, 
by  a  scheme  for  raising  $700,000  through  bills  of  credit3 
issued  on  the  security  of  the  Province,  with  the  understand 
ing  that  the  interest  should  go  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
Colonial  government.  Early  on  a  Sunday  morning,  in 
the  middle  of  December,  hand-bills  were  posted  thickly  up 
and  down  the  streets,  addressed:  "To  the  Betrayed  Inhabi 
tants  of  the  City  and  Colony  of  New  York"  pointing  out, 
under  the  signature  of  "A  Son  of  Liberty,"  that  the  propo 
sition  was  nothing  less  than  an  indirect  way  of  securing 
the  troops'  supplies  and  hinting  at  an  understanding  between 
the  Acting-Governor,  Colden,  and  the  head  of  the  De  Lancy 
family.  Fourteen  hundred  gathered  next  day  at  the  Lib 
erty  Pole  and  listened  while  John  Lamb,  a  young  merchant 
of  thirty-four,  condemned  the  Legislature's  acts.  A  com 
mittee  was  appointed  to  wait  on  the  Assembly,  but  that 
body,  influenced  by  the  Governor,  took  a  very  different  view 
of  the  matter;  Philip  Schuyler  alone  spoke  on  the  patriots' 
side,  and  Mr.  De  Lancy,  having  pronounced  the  paper  a 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  May  20,  1771. 

2  Letters  of  James  Murray,  123.     Ed.  Tiffany. 

3  Our  Country,  II,  672-3.     Lossing. 


142    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

scandalous  libel,  easily  secured  a  promise  of  $500  reward 
for  the  name  of  its  author.  Lamb  was  arrested  on  sus 
picion,  but  discharged.  Finally  the  printer  acknowledged 
the  writer  to  have  been  one  Alexander  McDougal  (later 
major-general),  a  Scot  from  the  Hebrides.  Since  McDougal 
would  not  confess  his  guilt  or  offer  bail,  he  was  thrown  in 
gaol,  where  he  was  visited  on  the  anniversary  of  the  repeal 
by  the  Sons  in  procession.1 

1  Our  Country,  II,  674-5.     Lossing. 


CHAPTER  V 

STAND  MADE   BY   THE   CITY   OF   LONDON    AGAINST    THE    KING. 
TEA   TAX   DEBATES.      SNIDER   INCIDENT 

IN  the  mean  while  matters  could  not  well  be  in  a  worse 
state  than  they  were  in  England.  In  October  of  1768, 
when  Lord  Chatham's  friend,  General  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst, 
was  relieved  of  the  Governorship  of  Virginia  in  favor  of 
Lord  Botetourt,  a  bankrupt  court-tool,  it  was  seen  that  that 
peer  had  no  leading  voice  in  the  Cabinet.1  Shortly  after, 
as  related,  Lord  Shelburne  and  Con  way  were  succeeded  by 
Lords  Gower  and  Weymouth  of  the  Bedford  party,  and  Lord 
Chatham  himself  by  the  Earl  of  Bristol.  Until  this  ill- 
fated  reign,  the  court  and  administration  had  been  accounted 
one  in  interests.  Frederick,  the  late  Prince  of  Wales,  is 
said  to  have  been  the  first  to  conceive  the  plan  of  carrying 
on  an  inner  court,  arrogating  to  itself  the  name  of  the 
King's  Friends,2  which  set  the  King  and  the  Cabinet,  and 
the  people  and  the  Cabinet,  at  variance;  bred  change,  and 
secured  all  the  household  posts  for  its  own  partisans.  The 
Cabinet  was  compared  by  Sir  William  Draper3  to  children 
who  "have  pouted,  quarrelled,  cried,  kissed,  and  been 
friends  again,  as  the  objects  of  desire,  the  ministerial  rattles, 
have  been  put  into  their  hands." 

Each  ministry  in  turn  felt  the  blight,  and  the  stronger 
men  were  driven  to  resign,  leaving  the  unscrupulous  to  rein 
force  the  cabal.  In  July  of  1769,  Junius,  now  very  generally 
identified  with  Sir  Philip  Francis,  chief  clerk  in  the  War 
office,  did  not  hesitate  to  write  to  the  Duke  of  Graf  ton:3 

1  Memoirs,  III,  162.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker.     War  in  America,  I,  174.     Murray. 

2  Thoughts  on  the  Present  Discontents,  45.     Edmund   Burke.     London,  1886: 
Edition  Cassell  &  Company. 

3  Letters  of  Junius,  XXVI,  XV.      London,  1798. 

143 


144      BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

"Since  the  accession  of  our  most  gracious  Sovereign  to  the 
throne,  we  have  seen  a  system  of  government  which  may 
well  be  called  a  reign  of  experiments.  Parties  of  all  denomi 
nations  have  been  employed  and  dismissed.  The  advice  of 
the  ablest  men  [has]  been  repeatedly  called  for  and  rejected; 
and  when  the  royal  displeasure  has  been  signified  to  a  min 
ister,  the  marks  of  it  have  usually  been  proportioned  to 
his  abilities  and  integrity.  ...  A  submissive  administra 
tion  was  at  last  gradually  collected  from  the  deserters  of 
all  parties,  .  .  .  Lord  Bute  found  no  ...  security  in  the 
proud  imposing  superiority  of  Lord  Chatham's  abilities,  the 
shrewd,  inflexible  judgment  of  Mr.  Grenville,  nor  in  the  mild 
but  determined  integrity  of  Lord  Rockingham.  His  .  .  . 
situation  required  a  creature  void  of  all  these  properties; 
and  he  was  forced  to  go  through  every  division,  resolution, 
composition,  and  refinement  of  political  chemistry,  before 
he  happily  arrived  at  ...  your  Grace." 

The  young  Duke  of  Grafton,  although  ruined  by  play, 
had  been  placed  at  the  head  of  the  finances  of  the  nation 
under  Chatham,  without,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
signal  success.  Accordingly,  after  references  to  the  time  he 
had  wasted  at  Newmarket  and  White's,  Junius1  observes 
dryly,  "he  promises  wonders  of  stability  and  firmness 
for  the  future.  These  are  mysteries  of  which  we  must  not 
pretend  to  judge  by  experience." 

With  affairs  at  this  pass,  the  persecution  of  a  man  so 
outspoken  as  John  Wilkes  became  inevitable,  notwithstand 
ing,  as  Horace  Walpole  puts  it,  he  was  personally  more 
suited  for  the  role  of  a  Merry  Andrew  than  that  of  a 
Martyr.2  The  ministry  could  not  abide  his  fearlessness  in 
exposing  corruption,  and  in  making  him  an  example  meant 
to  have  it  understood  that  their  endorsement  paid  better 
than  the  free  and  open  support  of  a  popular  vote.3  By 
favoring  servility  amongst  members  of  Parliament  through 

1  Letters  of  Junius,  XIII,  XIV. 

2  Memoirs,  III,  199.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

3  Present  Discontents,  80-1.     Burke.     Ed.  Cassells. 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  145 

heaping  benefits  on  all  related  to  their  tools,  and  furthering 
the  wishes  of  their  constituents,  Government  expected  to 
win  to  its  side  all  but  the  most  determined  and  clear-headed. 
So  successful  were  these  efforts,  although  Wilkes  was  thrice 
returned  at  the  top  of  the  poles,  —  the  last  time  by  a  vote 
of  1,143  to  296  in  his  favor,  —  the  House  was  pleased  to 
account  him  disqualified  and  stand  219  to  137  for  his  expul 
sion,  and  on  a  second  ballot,  235  to  89;  and  at  last  signify 
plainly  that  the  electors  had  no  voice  in  the  matter,  since 
they  were  determined  that  the  rival  candidate,  Colonel 
Luttrell,  one  of  Grafton's  pets,  should  fill  the  seat  in  any 
case.1  This  high-handed  course  led  some  to  make  common 
cause  with  the  Americans.  The  public  discontent  was 
greatly  aggravated  by  the  so-called  Massacre  of  St.  George's 
Fields2  (May  10th,  1768),  committed  by  the  3d  regiment 
of  Scotch  Guards  at  a  rally  of  Wilkes'  sympathizers,  one 
William  Allen,  mistaken  for  a  ringleader,  losing  his  life;  and 
further  intensified  at  the  election  of  Sergeant  Glynn,  Wilkes' 
colleague  (December  8th,  1768),  when  a  youth  named 
George  Clarke2  was  killed  by  a  Government  bludgeon-man 
without  offering  any  provocation.  The  houses  of  Lord 
Bute,  Egremont,  Sir  Sampson  Gideon,  and  other  Crown 
officers  were  attacked,  and  even  Whitehall  Palace  menaced 
by  crowds  shouting,  "Wilkes  and  Liberty."  Lady  Mary 
Coke,3  going  in  a  chair  to  a  card  party  at  Lady  Betty 
Germain's,  number  16,  St.  James'  Square,  was  stopped  by 
the  mob  until  her  bearers  declared  for  Wilkes.  The  Aus 
trian  Ambassador,  living  at  number  9,  the  same  night 
was  plucked  bodily  from  his  carriage  while  some  of  the 
rabble  chalked  "No.  45"  on  the  soles  of  his  shoes!  A  milk 
dealer,4  Thornton,  at  this  time  somewhat  audaciously  had 

1  Memoirs,  III,  172.      Walpole,  ed.  Barker.      Life  of  Fox,  152,  164.     Trevel- 
yan.     Anecdotal  History  of  the  British  Parliament,  128.     Jennings. 

2  Memoirs,  III,  141,   190,  200.     Walpole,   ed.   Barker.     Caricature    History, 
310-11,  312.     Wright. 

3  The  History  of  St.  James's  Square,  170-1.     Arthur  Irwin  Dasent.    London 
and  New  York,  1895:  Macmillan  &  Company. 

4  Life  of  Fox,  221.     Trevelyan. 


146    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Oliver  Cromwell's  speech  at  the  Dissolution  of  the  Long 
Parliament  struck  off  without  comment  and  pasted  up  and 
down  Bond  Street.  Whereupon  the  House,  balking  at 
the  sentence,  "Ye  are  a  pack  of  mercenary  wretches," 
clapped  him  into  Newgate  for  libel.  As  the  days  ran  on, 
petitions  against  grievances,  set  on  foot  by  the  Opposition, 
multiplied,  and  were  offset  by  addresses  of  satisfaction 
drawn  up  by  the  King's  party.  Amongst  the  rest  it  was 
proposed  that  a  loyal  address  should  be  presented  by 
six  hundred  merchants  and  others  at  St.  James'.1  The 
city  mob,  resenting  the  implied  slight  on  their  popular  hero, 
closed  the  gates  at  Temple  Bar,  spattered  the  deputation 
with  mud,  and  broke  one  old  merchant's  chariot  with  a 
hammer.  The  procession  scattered  for  the  moment,  but 
re-formed,  and  continued  its  uneasy  progress,  preceded, 
unawares,  by  a  hearse  drawn  by  four  horses,  bearing 
escutcheons  representing  the  fatal  riots  at  Brentford  and 
St.  George's  in  the  Fields.  On  reaching  the  Palace  a  scuffle 
ensued,  in  which  the  Steward's  staff  of  Lord  Talbot  was 
broken,  but  on  fifteen  rioters  being  arrested,  the  crowd2 
dispersed.  In  the  Colonies  the  best  men  were  to  the  fore 
and  the  people  dead  in  earnest.  This  the  home  government 
failed  to  appreciate,  and  between  petty  jealousy,  personal 
intrigue,  and  the  indifference  of  both  King  and  people,  it  was 
not  strange  that  petitions  and  protests  from  over-seas  were 
swept  aside  as  of  little  moment.  Ex-Governor  Pownall,  to  be 
sure,  after  showing  that  the  vaunted  duties  had  only  brought 
in  £270  from  America,  moved  for  a  committee  to  consider  the 
state  of  the  Colonies.2  But  Conway,  hoping  a  repeal  would 
be  granted  next  year,  moved  to  let  the  matter  stand  over 
until  then.  Lord  North  blustered  at  the  bare  notion  of 
repeal  as  beneath  their  dignity,  and  the  motion  was 
lost. 

Turning  to  the  East  India  Company,2  we  find  that  it  had, 
toward  the  close  of  the  previous  year,  voted  Government 

1  Caricature  History,  313.     Wright. 

2  Memoirs,  III,  232-3,  235,  239,  221,  226.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  147 

an  annual  appropriation  of  £410,000  for  five  years;  this 
offer  was  accepted  by  Parliament  early  in  1769,  despite  a 
protest  from  Lord  Clive,  Colonel  Barre  at  the  same  time 
inveighing  against  a  constitution  which  permitted  twenty- 
four  gentlemen  in  Leadenhall  Street  to  regulate  a  dominion 
containing  sixteen  million  souls  and  yielding  from  four  to 
eight  millions  a  year. 

Administration  for  some  time  past  had  shown  the  lack 
of  any  controlling  idea;  its  measures,  as  Walpole  observes,1 
starting  "indigested  out  of  the  daily  occurrences."  Struck 
with  its  helpless  inefficiency,  the  people  at  length  petitioned 
the  King  that  Parliament  might  be  dissolved;  not  realiz 
ing,  says  the  same  writer,  the  dangerous  precedent  this 
would  create  or  the  turmoils  and  expenses  of  a  fresh  elec 
tion,  and  especially  that  the  fault  lay  at  their  own  door 
in  returning  corrupt  members. 

The  "warm  little"  Duke  of  Bedford,  going  down  into 
Devonshire,  where  he  held  much  land  and  was  Lord  Lieuten 
ant,  with  a  hope  to  restrain  that  county  from  presenting  a 
petition,  was  beset  by  a  mob  in  Exeter  Cathedral  and 
threatened  with  bull-dogs  in  Honiton.1 

When  Parliament  met  in  January,  1770,  the  King's 
speech,  from  an  ignorance  of  real  conditions,  either  actual 
or  assumed,  dwelt  upon  a  passing  distemper  amongst 
horned  cattle2  (winning  him  the  name  of  Farmer  George), 
without  any  reference  whatever  to  his  dissatisfied  subjects. 
This  strange  oversight  was  amended  by  a  resolution  of 
Lord  Chatham's,  promising  attention  should  be  given  to 
the  nation's  discontent.3  Court  influence  ran  high,  how 
ever;  resignations  followed  thick,  and  with  them  all  hopes 
of  accommodation.  Lord  Camden  gave  up  the  Seals;  the 
Marquis  of  Granby  the  Commandership-in-Chief  of  the 
Army;  Mr.  Dunning  the  Solicitor  Generalship;  Sir  John 
Cust,  Speaker,  was  succeeded  by  Sir  Fletcher  Norton;  and 

1  Memoirs,  III,  146,  254-5,  251-2.     Walpole,  eu.  Barker. 

2  Caricature  History,  321.     Wright. 

3  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Ill,  365.     Bryant  and  Gay. 


148    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

the  Duke  of  Grafton,  ill  at  ease,  forsook  the  Premiership, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Lord  North.  A  good-humored, 
witty  man,  he  is  said  to  have  supported  the  King  against 
his  own  best  judgment,  being  one  of  the  very  few  who 
knew  the  nature  of  his  malady,  and  dreading  to  cross  him 
lest  it  be1  aggravated.  He  had  a  great  habit  of  sleeping, 
or,  since  his  eyes  were  weak,  seeming  to  sleep  in  the  House, 
and  once  was  reflected  upon  in  the  words:  "Even  now,  in 
the  midst  of  these  perils,  the  noble  Lord  is  asleep;"  when  he 
unexpectedly  rejoined,  "I  wish  to  G —  I  was!"2  Another 
time  as  he  dozed,  heaving  backwards  and  forwards  like  a 
great  turtle,  the  sound  of  a  false  quantity  in  a  quotation 
brought  him  bolt  upright.  Occasionally  George  Selwyn 
would  forsake  White's  to  snooze  by  his  side.3 

Unpromising  as  the  outlook  was  for  reform,  still,  even 
at  this  dark  period,  there  were  a  few  Whigs  left  to  reckon 
with.  As  Woodrow  Wilson  has  it,4  "The  question  now 
raised,  to  be  once  for  all  settled,  was  in  reality  the  question 
of  constitutional  as  against  personal  government."  In 
the  old  days  leading  up  to  the  great  Civil  War  the  question 
had  been,  should  the  King  tax  and  govern  in  person.  "No," 
said  Hampden  and  Cromwell's  Ironsides  at  Marston  Moor.5 
Now  it  was,  should  the  King  tax  and  govern  through  a 
dependent  Parliament.  "No,"  said  Beckford  and  the 
Colonists.  In  June6  of  1769  the  citizens  of  London  had 
presented  a  remonstrance  to  the  King,  taking  exception  to 
the  ill  counsels  and  corrupt  dealings  of  the  ministry,  the 
granting  of  General  Warrants,  the  evasion  of  the  habeas 
corpus,  imprisonment  without  trial  or  sentence,  the  uncon 
stitutional  taxation  of  the  Colonies,  and  the  tampering 
with  free  elections,  leaving  no  hope  of  Parliamentary 

1  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Ill,  366.     Bryant  and  Gay. 

2  Anecdotal  History  of  Parliament,  124,  179.     Jennings. 

3  Four  Georges.     Thackeray. 

4  "  Colonies  and  Nation."      Woodrow  Wilson.      Harper's  Monthly,  Septem 
ber,  1901. 

6  Life  of  Fox,  182.     Trevelyan. 

6  War  in  America,  211-2.     Murray. 


tti-afrt  'flu-lift -ffl/rft  f 

N"     Iff.  AMP!  JEN" 


JOHN  HAMPDEN 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  149 

redress  (so  it  concludes)  or  "resource,  under  GOD,  but  in 
your  Majesty."  To  this  no  attention  was  paid. 

Junius,  always  on  the  alert,  now  alleged  that  not  only 
the  freedom  of  election  had  been  violated,  but  the  Bill  of 
Rights  was  endangered.1  A  Society  for  Supporting  the 
Bill  of  Rights  (procured  from  Charles  I.)  was  accordingly 
formed2  under  the  guidance  of  Parson  John  Home,  and  a 
little  later  we  find  Sam  Adams  proposing  to  Arthur  Lee 
that  the  organization  should  be  extended  to  America. 
Early  in  January  £1,500  sterling  was  received  from  South 
Carolina  2  toward  defraying  Wilkes'  expenses,  which  were 
shortly  after  discharged  in  full  by  the  Association  and  he 
was  set  at  large.  There  was  much  cordiality  between  the 
Whig  club  of  Boston  and  the  London  Society,  and  a  feast 
is  mentioned3  at  which  Colonel  Barre  presided  and  Earl 
Temple  and  Lord  Camden  appeared  as  guests,  where  two 
green  turtles,  the  gift  of  the  Bostonians,  graced  the  table, 
one  weighing  exactly  92  pounds,  the  other  45. 

No  attention  whatever  being  paid,  meanwhile,  to  the 
City  Remonstrance,  after  more  than  eight  months  of  wait 
ing,  the  Livery  of  London  drew  up4  a  fresh  Address,  Re 
monstrance,  and  Petition,  wherein  it  was  urged: 

"The  present  House  of  Commons  do  not  represent  the 
people.  We  owe  to  your  majesty  an  obedience,  under  the 
restrictions  of  the  laws,  .  .  .  and  your  majesty  owes  to 
us,  that  our  representation,  free  from  the  force  of  arms  or 
corruption,  should  be  preserved  to  us  in  parliament. 

"  It  was  for  this  we  successfully  struggled  under  James  the 
Second;  for  this  we  seated  and  have  faithfully  supported 
your  majesty's  family  on  the  throne. 

"The  people  have  been  invariably  uniform  in  their  object; 
.  .  .  Under  James  the  Second  they  complained  that  the 

1  Letters  of  Junius,  XXXVII. 

2  Memoirs,  III,  225;  IV,  60.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 

3  Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution  in  America.     Dedicated  to  the  young 
men  of  the  United  States,  fifty-four  years  ago,  116.      Hezekiah  Niles.     New  York, 
Chicago  and  New  Orleans,  1876:  A.  S.  Barnes  &  Co. 

4  The  London  Magazine,  March,  1770. 


150    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

sitting  of  Parliament  was  interrupted,  because  it  was  not 
corruptly  subservient  to  his  designs;  we  complain  now,  that 
the  sitting  of  this  Parliament  is  not  interrupted,  because  it 
is  corruptly  subservient  to  the  designs  of  your  majesty's 
ministers." 

This  remonstrance  was  duly  presented,  March  seventh, 
by  the  two  sheriffs,  Townsend  and  Sawbridge;  to  whom 
the  King,  after  making  inquiry  and  learning  that  the  com 
plaint  was  made  on  the  part  of  the  citizens  of  London, 
"was  graciously  pleased  to  reply,  I  will  consider  of  the 
answer  you  have  given  me,"  fearing  lest  they  might  have 
ventured  too  far  or,  what  is  quite  as  likely,  having  been 
worked  upon  by  the  ministry,  a  few  of  the  aldermen  objected 
it  was  a  dangerous  innovation  to  assemble  the  livery  for 
other  purposes  than  those  of  election,  and  disclaimed  all 
connection  with  the  remonstrants.  A  few  days  later  the 
Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen  Sir  William  Stephenson  and  Mr. 
Trecothick,  the  sheriffs,  153  common  councillors,  and  a 
committee  of  the  livery  in  their  proper  gowns  proceeded 
from  Guildhall  to  St.  James'  to  receive  the  King's1  answer, 
attended  by  the  common  sergeant,  common  clerk,  remem 
brancer,  two  secondaries,  sword  bearer,  mace  bearer, 
water  bailiff,  common  crier,  common  hunt,  city  marshals, 
etc.  The  King  by  way  of  reply  took  exception  to  the 
remonstrance  as  unworthy  of  attention,  "disrespectful,"  as 
he  put  it,  "to  me,"  "injurious  to  Parliament,  and  irrecon 
cilable  to  the  principles  of  the  constitution."  The  Lord 
Mayor,  aldermen,  and  councillors  were  then  permitted  to 
kiss  the  royal  hand  and  withdraw.2 

Before  the  month  was  out  the  electors  of  the  City  and 
Liberty  of  Westminster,  in  view  of  their  ineffectual  appli 
cation  to  the  throne,  ventured  yet  again  to  break  in  on 
"his  Majesty's  repose"  with  an  Address,  Remonstrance, 
and  Petition,  of  like  tenor  as  that  so  recently  presented 
by  the  city  of  London.  An  account  of  the  day  remarks,2 
upon  its  receipt  his  Majesty  "delivered  it  to  the  lord  in 

1  London  Magazine,  March,  1770.  2  Ibid.  April. 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  151 

waiting,  who  delivered  it  to  another,  who  handed  it  to  a 
groom  of  the  bed-chamber,  and  he  carried  it  off/'  to  become, 
a  contemporary  caricature  puts  it,  "another  paper  kite 
for  His  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales."1  This  con 
temptuous  manner  of  proceeding  could  not  be  allowed  to 
pass  without  comment.  Alluding  to  the  "harshness"  of 
their  reception  at  a  meeting  in  the  Guildhall,  Alderman 
Beckf ord  proceeds : 2 

"In  the  arbitrary  reign  of  King  Charles  II.  there  \vere 
two  proclamations  issued  against  petitioning;  and  in  those 
days  there  were  servile  lawyers,  who  declared  that  procla 
mations  ought  to  have  the  force  of  law;  and  yet  those 
proclamations  did  not  damp,  but  increased,  the  zeal  for 
petitioning.  The  Citizens  of  London  did  then  petition 
.  .  .  and  many  counties.  ...  in  particular  .  .  .  Wiltshire. 

"The  Citizens  of  London  lately  presented  an  humble 
petition  .  .  .  evil  disposed  ministers  advised  his  majesty 
to  take  no  notice  of  it.  I  say,  the  giving  no  answer  to  a 
petition  seems  to  me  a  negative  of  the  right.  ...  I  have 
been  menaced  and  threatened  with  impeachment,  seques 
tration  of  my  estate  and  banishment:  but  I  was  supported 
by  my  worthy  colleague,  one  of  your  representatives,  and 
your  two  worthy  Sheriffs;  and  I  verily  believe,  that  with 
out  such  support,  something  very  hostile  and  disagree 
able  to  me,  your  lord  mayor,  would  have  been  the 
consequence. 

"I  now  come  to  the  orders  and  resolutions  of  three  of 
your  companies.  .  .  .  the  Goldsmiths  say,  that  your  address 
is  most  indecent.  The  Weavers  have  done  no  more  than 
echo  certain  words  of  the  King's  answer.  But  the  Grocers 
say,  that  your  humble  Address,  Remonstrance  and  Peti 
tion,  is  the  insidious  suggestion  of  designing  men.  .  .  . 
They  say  that  the  people  were  against  the  Remonstrance. 
Who  are  the  People?  Are  not  the  livery  the  people, 
who,  with  the  majority  of  the  Common-council,  approved 
thereof,  and  attended  me  with  the  same  to  the  King.  You 

1  Caricature  History,  324.     Wright.          2  London  Magazine,  April,  1770. 


152    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

have  chosen  me  your  chief  magistrate  against  my  will:  it 
is  your  duty  to  support  his  legal  authority;  it  is  your  con 
cern.  I  am  here  only  for  a  day,  but  I  hope  the  City  of 
London  will  preserve  its  liberties  till  time  shall  be  no  more. 
Your  affair  is  agitated;  look  to  it,  gentlemen.  .  .  . 

"If  every  master  of  a  company  can  controul  your  lord 
mayor,  and  refuse  to  obey  his  precepts  whenever  they  shall 
be  issued,  anarchy  and  confusion  must  be  the  consequence. 
Instead  of  one  Lord  Mayor  you  will  have  sixty-four.  What 
will  become  of  you?  .  .  .  You  have  been  called  a  mob, 
banditti,  and  the  scum  of  the  earth;  and  since,  your  humble 
address,  remonstrance,  and  petition,  have  been  represented 
as  sprung  from  hospitals  and  poor-houses.  I  answer  that 
the  ancestors  of  many  of  the  present  nobility  and  gentry 
have  sprung  from  citizens.  Why  do  men  value  themselves 
on  pompous  and  high-sounding  titles?  True  nobility  con 
sists  in  public  virtue  and  a  love  of  our  country.  But  why 
do  I  talk  of  nobility,  when  the  glorious  and  most  magnani 
mous  queen  that  ever  swayed  the  scepter  of  this  realm, 
was  the  grand-daughter  of  a  citizen,  Sir  Thomas  Bullen, 
a  lord  mayor  of  London. 

"You  have  been  constantly  invited  to  resistance  by 
these  hireling  writers.  They  say  you  are  a  cowardly  das 
tardly  crew,  who  can  bully  and  break  windows,  but  shrink 
from  danger.  In  a  taunting  manner  they  tell  us,  Why 
don't  you  stand  forth?  What!  stand  forth  to  have  your 
throats  cut  by  the  third  regiment  of  guards! 

"I  will  stand  forth,  I  will  fight  them,  but  it  shall  be  with 
the  law  and  constitution  on  my  side,  and  a  roll  of  old  parch 
ment  in  my  hand." 

Junius,1  who  had  not  shrunk  from  warning  the  King  that 
the  loss  of  his  crown  was  within  the  bounds  of  possibility, 
now  wrote:2  "It  has  not  been  usual  in  this  country,  at  least 
since  the  days  of  Charles  the  First,  to  see  the  sovereign 
personally  at  variance,  or  engaged  in  a  direct  altercation 
with  his  subjects."  After  which  he,  perhaps  unfairly, 

1  Letters,  XXXV.     Ed.  1798.  2  London  Magazine,  April,  1770. 


'WILLIAM  BECK  FORD 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  153 

animadverts  on  Lord  North  for  "attempting  to  fix  the  ridi 
cule  and  odium  of  his  own  precipitate  measures  upon  the 
royal  character"  and  leaving  the  King  "a  solitary  figure 
upon  the  scene."  He  next  compares  "Welbore  Ellis  and 
his  motion,"  left  in  the  lurch  by  the  ministers  balking  on 
the  verge  of  strong  measures,  to  Guy  Fawkes,  and  con 
tinues:  "Instead  of  reserving  the  interposition  of  the  royal 
personage,  as  the  last  resource  of  government,  their  weak 
ness  obliges  them  to  apply  it  to  every  ordinary  occasion, 
and  to  render  it  cheap  and  common  in  the  eyes  of  the  people 
.  .  .  and  for  the  emolument  of  remaining  one  day  more 
in  office,  [they]  care  not  how  much  his  sacred  character  is 
.  .  .  dishonoured. 

"  If  I  thought  it  possible  for  this  paper  to  reach  the  closet, 
I  would  venture  to  appeal  at  once  to  his  majesty's  judgment 
...  is  it  ...  for  your  interest  or  your  honour,  to  ... 
live  in  a  perpetual  disagreement  with  your  people,  merely 
to  preserve  such  a  chain  of  beings,  as  North,  Barrington, 
Weymouth,  Gower,  Ellis,  Onslow,  Rigby,  Jerry  Dyson, 
and  Sandwich?  Their  very  names  are  a  satyr  upon  all 
government,  and  I  defy  the  gravest  of  your  chaplains  to 
read  the  catalogue  without  laughing." 

The  action  of  the  city  was  warmly  supported  in  the 
Lords1  by  Chatham,  who  moved  that  the  advice  inducing 
the  King  to  reply  as  he  did  was  dangerous  in  its  tendency. 
He  referred  to  a  Lord  Mayor  of  London  making  one  of 
"the  twenty-five  barons,  who  received  Magna  Charta 
from  King  John;"  and  adds  "the  Lord  Mayor  with  the 
Livery  have  ever  since  been  considered  to  have  a  material 
influence  in  all  affairs  of  government;"  winding  up  with 
an  allusion  to  "the  wound  the  British  Constitution  has 
received  in  the  Middlesex  election."  Lord  G-w-r  in  reply1 
jeers  the  Opposition  for  their  absence  at  a  city  banquet 
when  they  should  have  been  on  hand  to  vote  if  they  were 
such  champions  for  the  constitution  as  they  professed  to 
be;  all  they  aimed  at  was  "popularity,"  and  as  for  the 

1  "  Debates  of  a  Political  Club."      London  Magazine,  May,  1770. 


154    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

City,  what  was  its  grievance,  what  would  it  have,  it  holds 
itself  treated  with  contumely,  "because,"  forsooth,  "it  is 
not  allowed  a  judicial  pre-eminence  over  both  houses  of 
P 1." 

Titus  Manlius  (L —  S-e),  speaking1  in  opposition,  said: 
"It  is  gravely  told  us,  my  1 — s,  that  the  answer  lately  given 
to  the  City  Address,  Remonstrance,  and  Petition,  is  similar 
to  the  answer  given  by  Charles  the  First,  Charles  the 
Second,  James  the  Second,  and  Queen  Anne,  to  similar 
applications  of  their  subjects  for  redress  of  grievances.  .  . 
Was  there  no  instance  upon  record  that  suited  the  pres 
ent  occasion  but  instances  from  the  reign  of  Stuarts?  My 
1 — s,  .  .  .  Let  me  tell  you  of  the  Kentish  petition;  in  com 
pliance  with  which  William  the  Third  dissolved  the  parlia 
ment,  to  let  the  nation  see  he  had  no  double  game  to  play, 
and  to  show  that  as  he  had  no  interest  separate  from  the 
interest  of  his  subjects,  all  parliaments  were  alike  acceptable 
to  him,  that  were  agreeable  to  the  wishes  of  the  kingdom. 
Here  is  a  precedent  for  royalty,  if  precedents  must  be  talked 
of  in  opposition  to  common  sense."  After  in  vain  trying 
to  draw  a  defence  from  Administration  he  closed:  "What, 
still  silent?  ...  I  see  upon  what  they  depend  —  but  let 
them  take  care  —  national  resentment,  though  slow,  is 
dreadful." 

The  absolute  tone  taken  by  King  George,  while  arising 
doubtless  from  his  natural  obstinacy,  may  have  been  influ 
enced  in  part  by  the  growing  self-assertion  of  the  French 
king.  "If  this  king  and  ours,"  writes  Horace  Walpole, 
"should  cross  over  and  figure  in,  Louis  XV.  would  dissolve 
our  Parliament  if  Polly  Jones  did  but  say  a  word  to  him. 
You  would  think  a  parliament  was  a  polypus:  they  cut  it 
in  two,  and  by  next  morning  half  of  it  becomes  a  whole 
assembly."  In  short,  he  mentions  nearly  half  a  dozen 
French  cities  whose  parliaments  had  been  either  suppressed 
entirely  or  superseded  by  superior  councils.2  Taken  in 

1  "^Debates  of  a  Political  Club."     London  Magazine,  May,  1770. 

2  Letters,  VIII,  76,  81.     Ed.  Toynbee,  Walpole. 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  155 

connection  with  the  dissolving  of  Colonial  assemblies  and 
the  high-handed  overriding  of  the  electors'  declared  pref 
erences,  this  is  rather  significant,  and  it  almost  seems  as 
though  the  fate  which  so  soon  overwhelmed  France  might 
have  been  shared  by  Great  Britain,  but  for  the  saving  sturdi- 
ness  of  the  body  of  the  English  people,  whether  home-born 
or  bred  in  the  Provinces. 

The  press1  did  not  scruple  to  hint,  "Had  Mr.  Hampden 
resolved  and  acted  like  the  moderate  men  of  these  days 
instead  of  hazarding  his  whole  fortune  in  a  lawsuit  with 
the  Crown,  he  would  quietly  have  paid  the  20  shillings 
demanded  of  him,  —  the  Stuart  family  would  probably 
have  continued  on  the  throne,  and,  at  this  moment  the 
imposition  [i.e.,  The  Ship  Tax  illegally  laid  by  Charles  I. 
on  the  inland  towns]  would  have  been  an  acknowledged 
prerogative  of  the  crown." 

The  time  was  full  of  peril;  when  Chatham  moved  for 
the  Reversion  of  the  House  of  Commons'  Adjudications, 
debarring  Wilkes  from  taking  his  seat,  the  Lower  House 
doggedly  maintained  they  could  not  reverse  a  resolution 
which  had  the  force  and  effect  of  a  judicial  sentence.  The 
House  of  Lords  as  a  body  concluded  they  could  not  im 
peach  the  Commons  in  any  case  whatsoever,  and  the  bill 
was  thrown  out,  the  following  Lords,  however,  entering 
their  protest  against  "the  violated  rights  of  the  subject:" 
Chatham,  Portland,  Plymouth,  Rockingham,  Abingdon, 
Boyle,  Grosvenor,  Stanhope,  Ponfonby,  Suffolk,  Rich 
mond,  Radnor,  Archer,  Fitzwilliam,  Temple,  Torrington 
Rutland,  John  Bangor,  Wycombe,  Fortescue,  Hunting 
don,  Tankerville,  Abergavenny,  King,  Ferrers,  Lyttelton, 
Bolton,  Camden,  Coventry,  Buckinghamshire,  Scarbor 
ough,  Northumberland,  Manchester.1 

No  one  was  more  outspoken  at  this  time  than  Sir 
George  Saville.  Having  been  admonished  after  one  of  his 
speeches  that,  "In  times  of  less  licentiousness  members 
have  been  sent  to  the  Tower  for  words  of  less  offence,"  he 

1  London  Magazine,  June,  May,  1770. 


156    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

instantly1  replied,  "The  mean  consideration  of  my  own 
safety  shall  never  be  put  in  the  balance  against  my  duty 
to  my  constituents.  I  will  own  no  superior  but  the  laws; 
nor  bend  the  knee  to  any  but  to  Him  who  made  me." 
The  Tory  press,  unable  to  fathom  a  disinterestedness  of 
which  it  was  incapable,  twitted  the  Opposition  in  a  Political 
Ballad2  as  follows: 

Ye  politic  blockheads  and  asses, 

Who  rail  at  old  time  as  he  passes, 

Now  grumble  away,  look  rueful  and  sad, 

For  the  people  of  England  are  all  going  mad. 

All  go  mad, 

Prospect  sad, 
For  the  people  of  England  are  all  going  mad. 

Through  every  part  of  the  nation, 

How  few  are  content  in  their  station ! 

The  loaves  and  the  fishes  they  all  have  in  view, 

And  that's  the  true  chace  which  all  grumblers  pursue; 

Profit  in  view, 

Grumblers  pursue, 
And  profit's  the  chace  which  all  grumblers  pursue. 

There's  Taycho,  the  trumpet  of  faction, 

Who  sets  all  their  forces  in  action, 

At  titles  and  pensions  he  always  has  soar'd, 

And  ever  was  charm'd  with  the  sound  of  my  lord; 

Great  is  my  lord, 

Mighty  fine  word, 
And  Pitt  was  enslav'd  by  the  sound  of  my  lord. 

A  while  then  so  quiet  and  civil, 
Poor  freedom  might  go  to  the  devil, 
Contented  and  passive  confin'd  by  the  gout, 
Till  hopes  of  fresh  honors  has  now  sent  him  out; 

Now  he  comes  out, 

Spite  of  the  gout, 
In  search  of  advantage  he  now  ventures  out. 

2  Early  in  the  session  attention  was  called  to  the  Colo 
nial  trade  relations.     Mutius  Scaevola  having  admitted  that 

1  Our  Country,  II,  676.     Lossing.  2  London  Magazine,  June,  May,  1770. 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  157 

the  exports  from  England  to  America  had  declined  from 
$12,000,000  in  1768  to  $8,000,000  and  a  trifle  in  1769, 
Lucius  Pertinex  (Col.  B.)  observed,  undoubtedly  the  cur 
rent  year  would  show  a  still  further  drop ;  he  would  therefore 
suggest,  in  common  justice  to  the  East  India  Company  as 
well  as  to  the  Colonies,  the  wisdom  of  a  total  repeal  of 
the  Townshend  Act.  Caius  Collatinus  (Sir  W— M— ,  Wm. 
Meredith?)  took  the  same  stand,  saying: 

Mr.  President,  sir,  It  amazes  me  not  a  little  to  find 
administration  so  perversely,  so  inflexibly  persisting  in 
error  on  every  occasion;  it  is  surprising,  to  use  an  expres 
sion,  of  Dryden's, 

"That  they  never  deviate  into  sense," 

nor  stumble  upon  propriety  by  downright  accident.  The 
only  reason,  Sir,  why  they  refuse  the  total  repeal  of  the 
present  tax  is,  to  preserve  the  preamble,  because  it  main 
tains  the  right  of  taxing  the  Americans.  But  surely  as 
there  is  a  positive  law  declaratory  of  the  right,  and  as  there 
is  even  another  tax  at  this  moment  in  force,  exercising  the 
right,  there  can  be  no  just  reason  for  not  indulging  the 
Americans  with  the  motion  as  amended  before  the  chair. 
I  am  the  piore  earnest  for  an  entire  repeal,  sir,  because  a 
partial  one,  instead  of  producing  any  benefit  to  the  mother 
country,  wilt^be  a  real  grievance;  a  certain  expense  to  our 
selves,  as  well  as  a  source  of  perpetual  discontent  to  the 
colonies;  .  .  .  we  keep  up  the  whole  establishment  of  the 
custom-houses  in  America  with  .  .  .  their  hydra-headed 
trains  of  dependents.  ...  In  fact,  the  tea  duty  will  by 
no  means  answer  the  charge  of  collecting  it,  and  the  defi 
ciencies  must  naturally  be  made  up  from  the  coffers  of  this 
kingdom;  so  that  this  wise  measure  of  a  partial  repeal  is 
to  plunder  ourselves,  while  it  is  to  oppress  our  fellow- 
subjects,  and  all  for  the  mere  purpose  of  preserving  a  pre 
amble  which  is  wholly  unnecessary. 

Lord  North,  on  the  contrary,  to  humor  the  King,  who 


158    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

was  bent  on  "trying  the  question  with  America"1  was 
content  to  let  the  revenue  go,  so  that  the  contention,  to 
quote  Junius,  was  judiciously  preserved.2  He  therefore 
proposed  to  withdraw  all  taxes  save  that  on  tea.  On  being 
put  to  the  vote,  this  last  measure  was  carried  and  Pownall's 
amendment  thrown  out  by  204  to  142.  A  circular2  was 
accordingly  issued  declaring  the  repeal  of  all  the  Townshend 
duties  save  that  on  tea.  Even  though  partial  in  its  opera 
tion,  this  concession  was  regarded  as  a  mistake  by  some,  and 
Dr.  Johnson,  a  pensioner  of  the  Government  and  afterwards 
author  of  the  tract  "Taxation  no  Tyranny,"  expressed  his 
dissatisfaction3  by  growling,  "The  Americans  are  a  race 
of  convicts,  and  ought  to  be  thankful  for  anything  we  allow 
them  short  of  hanging." 

Under  the  new  regulations  the  6d.  clearance  tax  on  India 
teas  leaving  England  was  taken  off,  and  an  import  tax  of 
3d.  a  pound,  payable  in  the  Colonies,  imposed  in  its  place. 
By  this  means  tea  on  which  duty  had  been  paid  cost  less 
than  any  the  Dutch  smugglers  could  offer.1  On  the  face  of 
it  the  plan  promised  to  prove  a  clever  bait.  So  insignificant 
a  tax,  it  seemed,  could  not  be  seriously  objected  to,  and  yet 
by  this  simple  means  Government  would  successfully  retain 
the  right  to  decree  imposts,  as  they  took  pains  to  state, 
"in  all  cases  whatsoever."  The  declaration  might  startle 
one  or  two,  but  the  yoke  was  so  slight  it  must  work  well 
in  the  end.  When  the  case  was  put  to  the  Colonies,  how 
ever,  Massachusetts  felt  she,  too,  had  a  principle  to  maintain 
and  braced  her  for  the  conflict;  three  guineas  or  three 
pence  was  all  one,  not  a  half  part  of  a  ha'penny  would  she 
pay  in  the  form  of  a  compelled  tribute. 

Before  Parliament  broke  up  an  attempt  was  made  by 
the  Opposition  to  reverse  the  American  policy.  Paulus 
Prisquinus  (P-l-,Pownall?),  speaking  in  the  Commons,  said:2 
"I  am  earnest  for  conciliating  measures;  I  think  it  even 

1  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Ill,  367-8.     Bryant  and  Gay. 

2  London  Magazine,  June,  May,  October,  1770. 

3  Our  Country,  II,  671.     Lossing. 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  159 

more  honorable  for  this  house  to  acknowledge  an  error  than 
to  repeat  it.  ...  Having  said  thus  much,  I  move,  'That 
an  address  be  presented  to  his  m — y  humbly  setting  forth, 
that  disputes  having  arisen  among  the  several  governors 
and  commanders,  in  almost  all  the  colonies,  since  the 
appointment  of  a  commander  in  chief;  that  there  is  perpet 
ual  confusion;  that  the  people  of  America  complain  of  the 
establishment  of  an  army  there,  as  setting  up  a  military 
government  over  the  civil;  and  that  therefore,  we  humbly 
beseech  his  m — y  to  direct,  that  all  these  matters  may  be 
reconsidered,  and  made  agreeable  to  the  constitution.' ' 

This  was  seconded  by  Vespasius  Vindex  (Mr.  Beckford) 
and  supported  by  M.  Lepidus1  (G.  J.),  who,  referring  to  the 
late  acts  as  questionable  in  point  of  law,  remarks  on  the 
folly  of  supposing  "the  mere  appearance"  of  troops  would 
terrify  Englishmen  into  "abject  subjection,"  and  when  the 
Colonies  were  inflamed  "almost  to  madness,"  to  purpose 
sending  more  soldiers  in  expectation  that  "their  murmurs 
will  subside." 

Caius  Sulpicius  (L —  B-n,  Lord  Barrington?)  pointed 
out  in  reply1  that  the  Governors  were  subordinate  in  all 
military  matters  where  the  Commander  held  the  rank  of 
a  Brigadier.  Where  this  was  not  the  case,  the  Governors 
in  a  military  capacity  were  to  command.  Consequently 
there  could  be  no  clashing  of  authority.  It  was  puerile 
to  bewail  that  "Ministry  would  not  suffer  the  Americans 
to  revolt."  It  was  not  likely  she  would! 

Tullus  Hostilius  (L —  G-w-r,  Lord  Gower),  alluding  to 
the  three  "whimsical"  Whig  speakers  who  had  preceded 
him,  observed:1  But  for  the  time  thrown  away  in  com 
plaints  over  the  Middlesex  election  the  American  matters 
would  have  been  taken  up  earlier.  The  Opposition  had 
only  itself  to  blame  for  delay.  He  then  hints  Those  out 
of  office  have  been  time  out  of  mind  of  the  opinion  the  Coun 
try  was  "on  the  verge  of  destruction,  .  .  .  yet,  blessed  be 
God,  we  have  incessantly  increased  both  in  our  property 

1  London  Magazine,  October,  November,  1770. 


160    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

and  our  freedom."  In  the  Lords,  resolutions  were  read 
objecting  to  the  methods  of  dissolving  the  Assemblies  in 
Massachusetts  and  Virginia  as  recently  practised  by  Gov 
ernors  Bernard  and  Lord  Botetourt,  as  tending  to  inflame 
the  Colonies.  That  having  dispersed  the  House,  to  allow 
the  deputies  to  reassemble  was  both  weak  and  foolish; 
and  that  further  to  imply  a  possibility  of  intervention  on 
the  part  of  the  Crown  improperly  involved  his  Majesty  in 
the  measures  of  his  ministers  and  had  a  tendency  to  dis 
turb  the  public  mind.1  Lucius  Verus  Paterculus  (the  D — 
of  R — ,  Richmond?)  then  moved J  that,  in  accordance 
with  his  Majesty's  admonition  at  the  opening  of  the  ses 
sion,  the  affairs  of  America,  where  disorders  were  rife, 
should  be  taken  under  consideration.  One  would  suppose 
from  this  recommendation  "even  the  blessed  set  of  minis 
ters,  who  now  superintend  the  business  of  this  unhappy 
kingdom,"  would  be  aware  that  the  gravity  of  the  situa 
tion  compelled  attention.  But  "the  fairy  dream"  had 
only  resulted  in  disappointment.  Publius  Varro  (Lord 
Hillsborough),  rising,  admitted  himself  "the  culprit"1  and 
claimed  the  alleged  severity  was  solely  due  to  the  disorders 
in  the  Colonies  which  to  his  thinking  were  encouraged  by 
the  Opposition  at  home  for  party  motives.  As  for  his 
letter l  requiring  the  dissolution  of  several  of  the  Provincial 
Assemblies,  he  could  "safely  place  his  hand  on  his  heart" 
and  "glory"  in  the  motive  that  prompted  its  writing. 
"The  Colonies,"  he  continued,1  "are  our  subjects;  as  such 
they  are  bound  by  our  laws,  and  I  trust  we  shall  never 
use  the  language  of  supplication,  to  beg  that  our  subjects 
will  condescendingly  yield  obedience  to  our  inherent  pre 
eminence.  .  .  .  Can  you,  my  1-s,  restrain  your  indignation 
at  the  bare  idea  of  so  mortifying,  so  abject  a  proposition? 
Is  not  the  whole  Englishman  maddened  in  your  bosoms, 
at  the  remotest  thought  of  crouching  to  the  creatures  of 
your  own  formation?  .  .  .  No,  .  .  .  you  will  reject  the 
resolution  before  you  with  contempt,  and  show  these  tur- 

1  London  Magazine,  May,  August,  May,  September,  1770. 


The  Right  Ilorf!  The  EARL  of  ffiLLSBOROUGH. 


THE  RIGHT  IIox.  THE  EAKL  OF  HILLSBOROUGH 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  161 

bulent  brawlers,  that  you  are  not  to  be  intoxicated  out  of 
your  duty  by  the  heady  fumes  of  a  licentious  popularity." 
He  then  concluded  with  a  counter  proposition  that  the  affairs 
in  America  should  be  left  to  the  action  of  the  ministry 
during  the  Recess,  and  moved  to  adjourn.1  Tullus  Ansi- 
dius  (L —  T — ,  Lord  Temple?)  followed,  and  commenting 
on  the  bawling  out  for  an  adjournment 1  "the  moment  the 
affairs  of  America  were  introduced,"  remarked  dryly:  "If 
the  happiness  of  this  kingdom  was  not  a  subject  much  too 
serious  for  pleasantry,  I  could  laugh  very  heartily  at  the 
modern  improvement  in  the  English  Constitution,  and 
observe  it  was  natural  enough  in  a  ministry,  which  elected 
representatives  for  the  people,  to  take  the  consideration  of 
public  business  entirely  from  the  hands  of  the  Parliament; 
but  the  mere  form  of  legislation,  surely,  without  the  use, 
is  too  insignificant  to  be  preserved."  Titus  Manlius  (Lord 
Shelburne)  reproached  Administration  for  putting  off  the 
American  business  until  the  last  day,  and  expressed  a 
hope  "such  effrontery"  would  be  punished.  He  objected 
to  a  minister  acknowledging  himself  at  fault  and  moving 
all  inquiry  be  deferred.  He  hoped  IMPEACHMENT  would 
soon  follow.1  The  ministry,  vouchsafing  no  reply,  again 
motioned  to  adjourn  and  it  was  carried. 

On  the  23d  of  May  the  Lord  Mayor,  &c.  repaired  to 
St.  James',  where  the  following  Petition  was  read  by  the 
town  clerk:1 
May  it  please  your  Majesty, 

When  your  majesty's  most  faithful  subjects,  the  cit 
izens  of  London,  whose  loyalty  and  affection  has  been  so 
often  and  effectually  proved  and  experienced  by  the  illus 
trious  house  of  Brunswick,  are  laboring  under  the  weight  of 
that  displeasure,  which  your  majesty  has  been  advised  to 
lay  upon  them  in  the  answer  given  from  the  throne  to  their 
late  humble  application,  we  feel  ourselves  constrained, 
with  all  humility,  to  approach  the  royal  father  of  his 
people. 

1  London  Magazine,  May,  September,  1770. 


162    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Conscious,  sire,  of  the  purest  sentiments  of  veneration 
.  .  .  for  your  majesty's  person,  we  are  deeply  concerned 
that  what  the  law  allows,  and  the  constitution  teaches, 
hath  been  misconstrued  into  disrespect  to  your  majesty 
by  the  instruments  of  that  influence  which  shakes  the 
realm. 

Perplexed  and  astonished  as  we  are,  by  the  awful  sen 
tence  of  censure  lately  passed  upon  the  citizens  of  London 
in  your  majesty's  answer  from  the  throne,  we  cannot, 
without  surrendering  all  that  is  dear  to  Englishmen,  for 
bear  most  humbly  to  supplicate  that  your  majesty  will 
deign  to  grant  a  more  favorable  interpretation  to  this 
dutiful  though  persevering  claim  to  our  invaded  birthrights; 
.  .  .  Your  majesty  cannot  disapprove  that  we  here  assert 
the  clearest  principles  of  the  constitution  against  the  insid 
ious  attempt  of  evil  counsellors  to  perplex,  confound,  and 
shake  them;  we  are  determined  to  abide  by  those  rights  and 
liberties,  which  our  forefathers  bravely  vindicated  at  the 
ever  memorable  Revolution,  and  which  their  sons  will 
always  resolutely  defend.  We,  therefore,  now  renew,  at 
the  foot  of  the  throne,  our  claim  to  the  indispensable  right 
of  the  subject.  .  .  . 

In  the  meantime,  sire,  we  offer  our  constant  prayers  to 
heaven,  that  your  majesty  may  reign  as  kings  can  only  reign, 
in  and  by  the  hearts  of  a  loyal,  dutiful,  and  free  people. 

The  King  seated  on  the  throne  read  in  reply: 

I  should  have  been  wanting  to  the  public  as  well  to  my 
self,  if  I  had  not  expressed  my  dissatisfaction  at  the  late 
address.  My  sentiments  on  that  subject  continue  the 
same;  and  I  should  ill  deserve  to  be  considered  as  the  father 
of  my  people,  if  I  could  suffer  myself  to  be  prevailed  upon 
to  make  such  an  use  of  my  prerogative,  as  I  cannot  but 
think  inconsistent  with  the  interest,  and  dangerous  to  the 
constitution  of  the  kingdom. 

The  Lord  Mayor  then  made  a  personal  appeal  that  they 
be  not  dismissed  without  "some  comfort,  some  prospect, 
at  least,  of  redress,"  and  concluded  solemnly,  Whoever 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  163 

had  dared  to  alienate  his  majesty's  affections  from  the 
city  of  London  was  a  "violator  of  the  public  peace  and  a 
betrayer  of  our  glorious  and  necessary  Revolution."  He 
paused  "near  a  minute"  for  some  response,  but  none  was 
vouchsafed,  the  Court  struck  the  while  with  his  serious,  firm, 
and  reverent  bearing;  Lord  Pomfret  having  led  them  to 
expect  far  otherwise  from  his  sneer  in  the  Lords  that  "how 
ever  swaggering  and  impudent  the  behavior  of  the  low  citi 
zens  might  be  on  their  own  dunghill,  when  they  came  into 
the  royal  presence,  their  heads  hung  down  like  bulrushes, 
and  they  blinked  with  the  eyes  like  owls  in  the  sunshine."1 
Matters  continuing  to  take  their  course,  it  was  debated 
toward  the  close  of  October  by  the  electors  of  Westminster 
whether  or  no  to  impeach  Lord  North.  November  7th, 
Sir  Robert  Bernard  presented  in  their  behalf  a  second 
remonstrance,  which  was  received  without  comment.  A 
fortnight  later,  Beckford  having  died  shortly  after  his  last 
great  effort,  the  new  Lord  Mayor,  the  right  Hon.  Brass 
Crosby,  accompanied  by  Aldermen  Trecbthick,  Stevenson, 
Townsend,  Oliver,  the  two  sheriffs,  and  one  hundred  com 
mon  councillors,  proceeded  from  Guildhall  to  St.  James' 
with  a  fresh  Remonstrance.  This,  after  remarking  on  the 
"prevalence  of  evil  counsellors,"  dwelt  on  their  "hearts 
big  with  sorrow,  and  warm  with  affection,"  and  again 
claimed  "with  equal  humility  and  freeborn  plainness" 
their  "indisputable  birthrights,"  freedom  of  election  and 
right  of  petitioning,  to  which  was  returned: 

His  MAJESTY'S  ANSWER 

As  I  have  seen  no  reason  to  alter  the  opinion  expressed 
in  my  answer  to  your  address  upon  this  subject,  I  can  not 
comply  with  the  prayer  of  your  petition.1 

Meanwhile  the  soldiery  and  the  New  Yorkers  had  come 
to  open  blows.  One  night  toward  the  middle  of  January 
the  Liberty  Pole,  which  had  stood  since  1767,  was  levelled 

1  London  Magazine,  May,  November,  1770. 


164    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

I  and  its  fragments  thrown  before  Montague's  door,  where 
/  the  Sons  of  Liberty  held  their  meetings.  St.  George's  bell 
in  Beekman  Street  pealed  an  alarm,  and  a  crowd,  three 
thousand  strong,  quickly  rallied  about  the  stump.1  The 
Liberty  boys  hotly  denounced  the  soldiers  as  disturbers  of 
the  peace.  The  soldiers  retaliated  by  posting  up  placards 
reflecting  on  the  inhabitants.  Two  were  caught  in  the  very 
act.  Their  comrades  attempted  a  rescue,  and  the  so-called 
Battle  of  Golden  Hill  followed.  In  the  end  the  soldiers 
were  ordered  into  barracks  by  the  officers,  but  not  before 
several  of  the  townsmen  were  severely  wounded.  On  this 
occasion  Michael  Smith  distinguished  himself  by  captur 
ing  a  musket  which  served  him  in  good  stead  a  few  years 
later;2  while  the  Sons  undauntedly  set  up  a  fresh  pole  on 
ground  bought  for  the  purpose  on  Broadway  near  the  pres 
ent  Warren  Street. 

In  January,  1770,  acting  on  instructions  from  Hillsbor- 
ough,1  while  some  of  the  more  distant  members  of  the  Mass 
achusetts  Assembly  were  making  their  way  toward  Boston, 
Governor  Hutchinson  prorogued  the  Legislature  until  March. 
About  the  same  time  his  sons  broke  through  the  non-impor 
tation  agreement,  and  secretly  began  to  sell  tea.  A  body 
of  patriot  merchants  immediately  went  to  Hutchinson's 
house1  to  treat  with  his  sons,  but  were  denied  entrance. 
A  meeting  being  held  at  Faneuil  Hall  to  consider  further 
measures,  Hutchinson  sent  a  letter  by  Sheriff  Greenleaf 
to  the  effect,  This  going  by  the  merchants  from  house  to 
house  to  influence  the  people  was  "irregular,"3  and  he  forth 
with  enjoined  and  required  those  present  "without  delay 
to  separate  and  disperse,  and  to  forbear  all  such  unlaw 
ful  assemblies  for  the  future."  This  being  calmly  consid 
ered,  the  sense  of  the  meeting  was  a  "unanimous  Vote  to 
proceed."  The  following  resolutions  were  then  proposed3 

1  Our  Country,  II,  679,  678.     Lossing. 

2  A  Child's  History  of  the  U.  S.,  357.     John  Gilmary  Shea,  LL.D.     New  York, 
1872:  McMenamy,  Hess  &  Co. 

3  London  Magazine,  March,  1770. 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  165 

and  passed:  (1)  The  destruction  of  the  Liberty  Pole  in 
New  York  betokened  that  the  soldiers  were  opposed  to 
the  laudable  spirit  of  liberty,  and  therefore  "enemies, 
mortal  enemies  to  all  that  is  valuable  to  Englishmen." 
(2)  Resolved  not  to  employ  any  soldiers  on  any  terms  what 
ever,  and  Since  they  travel  the  streets  after  dark  with 
arms,  all  such  abroad  after  roll-call,  unless  sentinels  and 
orderly  sergeants,  to  be  treated  as  enemies  and  "we  do 
hereby  solemnly  engage,  to  and  with  each  other,  That 
we  will  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  adhere  to  the  above 
resolutions,  and,  if  possible,  bring  the  transgressors  of  them 
to  condign  punishment."  The  challenging  of  ordinary 
passers,  by  sentinels  before  private  houses  where  officers 
were  lodged,  was  particularly  offensive  and  bred  per 
petual  quarrels.  The  people  bore  a  grudge,  too,  against 
Captain  Wilson1  of  the  59th,  who  would  have  started  a 
negro  insurrection  and  sheltered  the  rioters.  Considering 
the  temper  of  the  inhabitants,  the  authorities  were  perhaps 
justified  in  supplying  the  soldiers,  as  they  now  did,  with 
ball  cartridges.2 

The  support  of  home  manufactures  continued  as  ardent 
as  ever,  the  Boston  News  Letter  offering  encouragement  in 
the  following  lines:3 

To  OUR  LADIES. 

Young  ladies  in  town,  and  those  that  live  round, 
Let  a  friend  at  this  season  advise  you: 
Since  money's  so  scarce,  and  times  growing  worse, 
Strange  things  may  soon  hap  and  surprise  you. 

First,  then,  throw  aside  your  top-knots  of  pride; 
Wear  none  but  your  own  country  linen: 
Of  economy  boast;  let  your  pride  be  the  most 
To  show  clothes  of  your  own  make  and  spinning. 

1  Annals,  165.     Morse. 

2  Our  Country,  678.     Lossing. 

8  Colonial  Days,  91.  Richard  Markham.  New  York,  1879:  Dodd,  Mead  & 
Company. 


166    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

What  if  homespun,  they  say,  is  not  quite  so  gay 
As  brocades?     Yet  be  not  in  a  passion; 
For,  when  once  it  is  known  this  is  much  worn  in  town, 
One  and  all  will  cry  out,  "'tis  the  fashion!" 

And,  as  one,  all  agree  that  you'll  not  married  be 
To  such  as  will  wear  London  factory; 
But  at  first  sight  refuse;  tell  'em  such  you  will  choose 
As  encourage  your  own  manufactory. 

No  more  ribbons  wear,  nor  in  rich  silks  appear; 
Love  your  country  much  better  than  fine  things; 
Begin  without  passion;   'twill  soon  be  the  fashion 
To  grace  your  smooth  locks  with  a  twine  string. 

Throw  aside  your  Bohea,  and  your  Green  Hyson  tea, 
And  all  things  with  a  new-fashion  duty : 
Procure  a  good  store  of  the  choice  Labrador; 
For  there'll  soon  be  enough  here  to  suit  you. 

These  do  without  fear,  and  to  all  you'll  appear 

Fair,  charming,  true,  lovely,  and  clever: 

Though  the  times  remain  darkish,  young  men  may  be  sparkish, 

And  love  you  much  stronger  than  ever. 

The  women  were  quick  to  respond.  Ten  spinning-wheels 
were  made  where  one  used  to  be  in  Rhode  Island,1  and  every 
week  had  its  story  of  a  successful  bee;  the  workers  some 
times  carrying  their  wheels  to  the  parsonage,  or  as  in  the 
case  of  ninety-seven  young  ladies  in  Bridge  water,1  North 
parish,  spinning  at  home  and  then  carrying  thither  their 
gift,  in  this  instance,  3,322  knots  of  linen,  tow,  cotton, 
etc.,  lest  the  family  be  annoyed  by  "the  buzzing  of  the 
wheels,  rattling  of  Reels  and  chat"  of  so  many  tongues. 
After  making  their  donation  we  learn  that  the  Bridgewater 
girls  walked  two  and  two  to  the  meeting-house,  where  they 
listened  to  a  "suitable  sermon"  from  the  grateful  Mr. 
Porter,  after  which  the  gentlemen  of  the  congregation 
sang  "melodiously: 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  June  26,  September  11,  1769. 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  167 

"Rubies!  ye  bright,  ye  orient  pearls! 
How  coveted  by  Men! 
And  yet  the  virtuous  Woman's  price 
Excels  the  precious  gem.     etc." 

The  palm  may  perhaps  be  awarded  to  Mary  Harding, 
a  young  woman  employed  in  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Abiel 
Leonard,  of  Woodstock,1  who  span  seven  pounds  of  wool 
into  142  knots  in  one  day,  two  skeins  above  any  three  days' 
ordinary  work,  keeping  two  carders  constantly  employed, 
and  walking,  by  careful  computation,  16  miles,  240  yards 
in  the  process.  "April  26,  1769,"  writes  Parson  Stiles  of 
Newport,  "Spinning  Match  at  my  House,  thirty-seven 
Wheels;  the  Women  bro't  their  flax  &  spun  ninety-four 
fifteen-knotted  skeins :  about  five  skeins  &  half  to  the  pound 
of  16  ounces.  They  made  us  a  present  of  the  whole.  The 
Spinners  were  two  Quakers,  six  Baptists,  twenty-nine  of 
my  own  Society.  There  were  besides  fourteen  Reelers, 
&c.  In  the  evening  &  next  day,  Eighteen  14 -knotted 
skeins  more  were  sent  in  to  us  by  several  that  spun  at 
home  the  same  day.  Upon  sorting  &  reducing  of  it,  the 
whole  amounts  to  One  hundred  &  eleven  fifteen-knotted 
Skeins.  We  dined  sixty  persons.  My  p'ple  sent  in  4  Ib. 
Tea;  9  Ib.  Coffee;  Loaf  Sugar;  above  3  qrs.  veal;  ij  doz. 
Wine;  Gammons;  Flour;  Bread;  Rice;  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  to 
amount  of  £150  Old  Tenor,  or  about  twenty  Dollars:  of 
which  we  spent  about  one-half.  In  the  course  of  the  day, 
the  Spinners  were  visited  by,  I  judge,  six  hundred  Spec 
tators."  In  the  account  of  next  year's  Bee,  he  enters 
under  May  30th,  "Begun  by  Break  o'  day,  &  in  forenoon 
early  were  sixty-four  Spinning  Wheels  going."  2  Half  a 
million  silkworms  were  raised  a  little  later,  we  read,  in  Penn 
sylvania  to  meet  the  demand  for  finer  wear.2 

In  February  a  great  meeting  was  held  at  Faneuil  Hall, 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  December  24,  1770. 

2  The  Literary  Diary   of  Ezra  Stiles,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President   of   Yale  College, 
1,  8-9,  53,  361.     Franklin  Bowditch  Dexter,  M.A.     New  York,   1901:    Charles 
Scribner's  Sons. 


168    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

when  it  was  unanimously  resolved  to  abstain  totally  from 
the  use  of  tea.  Stirred  by  all  this,  more  than  four  hundred 
mistresses  of  households1  pledged  themselves,  February 
9th,  to  drink  no  more  tea  until  the  revenue  act  was  repealed. 
One  hundred  and  twenty  young  ladies  followed  them, 
three  days  later,  by  forming  a  similar  league,  subscribing 
in  these  words:  "We,  the  daughters  of  those  patriots  who 
have,  and  do  now  appear  for  the  public  interest,  and  in 
that  principally  regard  their  posterity,  as  such,  do  with 
pleasure  engage  with  them  in  denying  ourselves  the  drink 
ing  of  foreign  tea,  in  hopes  to  frustrate  a  plan  that  tends  to 
deprive  a  whole  community  of  all  that  is  valuable  in  life."  2 
Sustained  by  their  high  resolution,  the  ladies  then  fell  to 
the  preparation  of  sundry  substitutes  such  as  coffee  made 
from  rye,  barley,  and  dried  peas;  or  tea,  from  balm,  thyme, 
ribwort,  sage,  or  dried  raspberry  leaves,  —  this  last  prep 
aration  being  distinguished  with  the  name  of  Balsamic 
Hyperion.  It  is  to  be  feared  their  attempts  were  more 
ingenious  than  satisfactory,  but  the  women  continued 
steadfast,  one  writing  cheerfully:  "I  have  commonly  put 
two  large  chamomile  flowers  in  a  middle  sized  tea  pot,  .  .  . 
and  am  sensible  of  a  more  firm  tone  of  the  solids  .  .  .  and 
greater  aptness  for  motion."  3 

At  length,  that  all  bridges  might  be  burnt  behind  them, 
Hancock's  offer  to  ship  back  to  England  at  his  own  expense 
such  stores  of  tea  as  were  oh  hand  in  Boston  was  eagerly 
accepted  and  acted  on. 

A  sad  collision  between  the  factious  parties  occurred 
the  latter  part  of  this  month.  Theophilus  Lillie  was  one  of 
six  merchants  who  refused  to  sign  the  non-importation 
paper  and  continued  selling  tea  to  Tory  customers.  This 
brought  him  into  disrepute,  and  one  day  a  post,  surmounted 
by  a  carved  head  and  lettered  with  the  importers'  names, 

1  Historic   Pilgrimages   in  N.  E.,   304.      Edwin   M.    Bacon.     Boston,   1898: 
Silver,  Burdett  &  Company. 

2  Our  Country,  II,  679.     Lossing. 

1  Boston  Evening  Post,  October  24,  1768. 


TEA  TAX  DEBATES  169 

was  set  up  in  the  middle  of  Hanover  Street  opposite  his 
shop,  with  a  wooden  hand  pointing  at  his  door.  A  custom 
house  informer,  Ebenezer  Richardson,  who  lived  close  by, 
urged  a  carter  to  overthrow  the  placard  with  his  charcoal 
wagon,  but  without  success.1  A  crowd  collected,  and  some 
boys  recklessly  pelted  Richardson,  who  lost  his  temper, 
exclaimed,  "Perjury,  perjury,"  ran  inside  and  fired  back 
into  the  group,  mortally  wounding  an  eleven-year-old  Ger 
man  lad,  Christopher  Snider,  living  with  Madam  Apthorp,2 
and  severely  wounding  Samuel  Gore,  a  youth  of  twenty. 
Edward  Procter  and  Thomas  Knox  are  known  to  have 
been  in  the  crowd  of  spectators,  some  of  whom  set  the  bells 
of  the  New  Brick  pealing  an  alarm,  while  others  burst 
into  Richardson's  house,  both  front  and  back,  making 
him  prisoner,  together  with  George  Wilmot,  a  seaman 
from  the  revenue  cutter,  whose  gun  was  heavily  charged 
with  179  goose  and  buck  shot.  The  two  were  then  hurried 
before  Richard  Dana,  Edmund  Quincy,  and  Samuel  Pem- 
berton,  in  Faneuil  Hall,  and  stood  examination  in  the 
presence  of  a  vast  crowd. 

The  Gazette  for  February  26th  published  an  open  letter, 
running  as  follows: 

Messers  EDES  &  GILL:  The  general  sympathy  and  con 
cern  for  the  murder  of  the  lad  by  the  base  and  infamous 
Richardson,  on  the  22d  inst.,  will  be  sufficient  reason  for 
your  notifying  the  publick  that  he  will  be  buried  from  his 
father's  house  in  Frogg  Lane  [Boylston  St.],  opposite  Lib 
erty  Tree,  on  Monday  next,  when  all  the  friends  of  liberty 
may  have  an  opportunity  of  paying  their  last  respects  to 
the  remains  of  this  little  hero  and  first  martyr  to  the  noble 
cause,  whose  manly  spirit,  after  the  accident  happened, 
appeared  in  his  discreet  answers  to  the  doctor,  his  thanks 
to  the  clergy  who  prayed  with  him,  and  the  firmness  of  mind 
he  showed  when  he  first  saw  his  parents  and  while  he  under 
went  the  greatest  distress  of  bodily  pain.  These  things, 

1  Our  Country,  II,  679.     Lossing.  2  Antiquities,  776-7.     Drake. 


170    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

with  several  heroic  pieces  found  in  his  pocket,  particularly 
Wolfe's  Summit  of  Human  Glory,  gave  reason  to  think  he 
had  a  martial  genius.  A  Mourner. 

The  Gazette  of  March  5th  has  a  full  account  of  the  fun 
eral  from  the  moment  "the  little  corpse  was  set  down  under 
the  Tree  of  Liberty  from  whence  the  procession  began." 
Many  must  have  seen  a  board  fixed  to  the  Tree  bearing  the 
following  words: l  "Thou  shalt  take  no  satisfaction  for 
the  life  of  a  murderer,  he  shall  surely  be  put  to  death." 
Elsewhere2  we  read  that  the  coffin  was  inscribed:  "Inno 
cence  itself  is  not  safe,"  and  that  six  of  his  recent  playfellows 
held  the  pall.  John  Adams,  who  had  just  ridden  up  from 
Wey mouth,  tells  us:3  "When  I  came  into  town  I  saw  a 
vast  collection  of  People  near  Liberty  Tree;  inquired,  and 
found  the  funeral  of  the  child  lately  killed  by  Richardson 
was  to  be  attended.  Went  into  Mr.  Rowe's  and  warmed 
me,  and  then  went  out,  to  the  funeral.  A  vast  number 
of  boys  ["about  500 "2j  walked  before  the  coffin;  a  vast  num 
ber  of  men  and  women  after  it,  and  a  number  of  carriages. 
My  eyes  never  beheld  such  a  funeral.  The  procession 
extended  farther  than  can  be  imagined.  This  shows  there 
are  many  more  lives  to  spend,  if  wanted,  in  the  service  of 
their  country." 

At  the  prisoners'  trial,  April  20th,  Wilmot  was  acquitted 
and  Richardson  convicted  of  murder,  but  after  two  years 
in  prison  he  was  pardoned  by  Governor  Hutchinson,  on 
the  ground  that  he  had  been  annoyed  past  endurance. 
John  Adams,  in  1816,  writes  respecting  him: 4  "If  there  was 
ever  a  color  of  justice  in  the  public  opinion,  he  was  the  most 
abandoned  wretch  in  America.  .  .  .  His  name  was  suffi 
cient  to  raise  a  mob,  and  I  had  almost  said  to  the  honor 
of  the  mob." 

1  Antiquities,  777.     Drake.  3  Diary,  II,  227-8. 

2  Our  Country,  II,  680.     Lossing.  4  Annals,  217.     Morse. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SOLDIERY   PROVOKED 

ALL  this  made  the  town  restive  and  sore,  and  the  under 
current  of  resentment  against  the  British  ministry 
began  to  find  vent  upon  the  soldiers,  until  feeling  ran  high 
between  the  Towners  and  Lobster-backs.1  They  were 
rough  old  days,  and  men  did  not  measure  their  words. 
These,  passed  about,  fed  the  flames.  One  Christopher 
Humbly,  of  the  29th  regiment,  about  this  time  bragged 
before  John  Wilme  of  the  North  End  the  soldiers  would 
soon  sweep  the  streets  clear,  placing  their  own  women  in 
the  protection  of  the  Castle.  Eleanor  Parke,  a  soldier's 
wife,  said  in  his  presence  she  would  put  a  stone  in  her 
handkerchief  and  brain  the  Yankees  if  they  wounded  the 
British.  A  definite  date  appears  to  have  been  fixed  for 
the  inevitable  explosion,  and  hints  were  more  and  more 
plainly  dropped.  Thursday,  March  1st,  between  the 
Market  and  Justice  Quincy's,  a  soldier  in  hearing  of 
William  Newhall  boasted  men  would  dine  Monday  noon 
who  would  not  eat  on  Tuesday. 

At  this  time  the  14th  regiment  was,  as  we  have  seen, 
quartered  in  James  Murray's  barracks  in  Brattle  Street, 
near  the  present  Quincy  House,  in  a  building  opposite  a 
little  tunnelled  short-cut  into  the  bottom  of  Cornhill,  as 
the  northerly  termination  of  Washington  Street  was  then2 
called.  This  alley  was  sometimes  known  as  Draper's, 
from  an  early  government  printer,  but  more  often  as  Boyl- 

1  History  of  the  Boston  Massacre,  containing  the  Narrative  of  the  Town,  the  Trial 
of  the  Soldiers:  and  A  Historical  Introduction,  unpublished  documents  of  John  Adams, 
and  notes.     Frederick  Kidder.     Albany,  1870:  Joel  Munsell.     This  chapter  and 
the  next  are  chiefly  drawn  from  the  ninety-six  depositions  to  be  found  there,  care 
fully  indexed. 

2  Landmarks,  121,  273.      Drake. 

171 


172    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

ston.  It  has  since  been  lost  in  the  extension  of  the  street. 
The  officers  lodged  with  Madam  Ap thorp  close  by.  The 
29th  was  quartered  in  Water  and  Atkinson  Streets.  Charles 
Paxton's  three-story  brick  house,  it  will  be  remembered, 
stood  alone  on  the  east  side  of  Pearl  Street  (formerly  Hutch- 
inson  Street)  not  far  from  Milk.  On  the  opposite  side  of 
the  street  were  Gray's  ropewalks,  some  seven  buildings, 
including  warehouse,  dwelling-house,  and  works,  extending 
about  seven  hundred  feet  from  Cow  Lane  (High  Street) 
up  toward  Milk.  These  works  had  been  established  in 
1712  by  Edward  Gray,  Sr.,  the  father  of  Harrison  Gray, 
Treasurer  of  the  Province,  and  of  John,  who  continued  the 
business.1 

On  Friday  Mr.  John  Gray  told  Nicholas  Ferreter  to  go 
to  his  ropewalks,  near  Green's  barracks  in  Atkinson  Street, 
and  make  some  cables.  As  the  men  coiled,  between  ten 
and  eleven  that  morning,  three  soldiers  of  the  29th  strolled 
up.  A  hand,  said  to  have  been  a  negro,  William  Green, 
hailed  one  of  them,  "Do  you  want  to  work?"  "I  do, 
faith."  Green  then  made  a  contemptuous  reply;  at 
which  the  soldier  stood  a  long  time  swearing  in  a  rage.  At 
length,  coming  up  to  the  window,  the  soldier  looked  in,  vowed 
he  would  have  satisfaction,  and  jeered  he  was  afraid  of 
none  of  them.  Ferreter  stepped  out  of  the  window,  and  a 
challenge  to  box  was  accepted.  Ferreter  speedily  knocked  up 
the  soldier's  heels,  and  John  Wilson,  who  had  followed  him, 
took  a  naked  sword  from  him  which  showed  under  his  coat 
as  he  fell.  This  they  carried  away  and  went  back  to  work. 

The  soldiers  drew  off  to  Green's  barracks,  returning 
about  noon,  some  twenty  minutes  later,  with  eight  or 
nine  redcoats  armed  with  pipe  staves  from  a  cooper's  shop, 
split  into  clubs. 

The  regulars  asked  why  their  man  had  been  abused,  and 
challenged  all  hands  to  a  fight.  The  word  was  passed  down 
the  walk,  all  the  hands  present,  thirteen  or  fourteen,  turned 
out  with  their  wouldring  sticks  and  beat  them  off  directly. 

1  Landmarks,  121,  273.     Drake. 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  173 

Again  the  regulars  returned,  reinforced  to  the  number 
of  thirty  or  forty,  some  carrying  cutlasses,  a  powerful 
negro  drummer  at  their  head  in  particular,  who  had  his 
cutlass  chained  to  his  body.  Others  seem  to  have  pulled 
down  the  fencing  about  a  field  in  High  Street  (now  Quincy 
Place) 1  and  armed  themselves  with  the  pales.  John  Hill, 
sixty-nine  years  of  age,  was  standing  at  a  door  on  the  corner 
of  the  passageway  leading  from  Atkinson  Street  to  the 
ropewalks  as  they  passed,  and  called  after  the  drummer, 
"You  black  rascal,  what  have  you  to  do  with  white  peoples' 
quarrels?"  He  answered,  "I  suppose  I  may  look  on," 
and  went  forward.  Hill  hastened  after  them  and  "com 
manded  the  peace,"  telling  them  he  held  commission  as 
justice;  disregarding  which  the  negro  cut  Ferreter  over 
the  head,  and,  a  ropewalker  falling  whom  Mr.  Hill  would 
have  lifted,  they  even  aimed  a  club  at  the  old  man.  At 
the  outset  the  soldiers  drove  the  ropewalkers  into  the  walk 
next  the  tar  kettle,  but  in  the  end  the  workmen  seem  to 
have  been  joined  by  ship-builders  from  'Hallowell's  yards 
in  Batterymarch  Street,  and  the  neighboring  blacksmiths 
and  block-makers  hastily  armed  with  pales,  and  contrived 
to  force  the  soldiers  back  as  far  as  Green's  Lane,  as  all  that 
part  of  the  present  Congress  Street  south  of  Milk  was  then 
called.  Here  a  corporal  ordered  them  in.  The  rope- 
walkers  on  their  part,  persuaded  by  Mr.  Hill,  also  retired. 
Matthew  Killroy,  William  Warren,  and  John  Carrol,  three 
of  the  soldiers  concerned  in  this  last  attack,  are  heard  of 
again.  That  afternoon  the  soldiers  would  have  been  over 
once  more,  but  were  prevented  by  John  Gray. 

Saturday,  John  Fisher  saw  some  soldiers  fashioning 
clubs  and  heard  them  plotting  to  settle  all  scores  on  Mon 
day.  Rev.  Dr.  Eliot  told  Parson  Gordon2  that  he  was 
aware  of  the  townspeople  forming  the  same  resolution  on 
Saturday,  and  that  bells  were  to  be  rung  Monday  evening 
to  call  the  folk  into  the  streets.  Half  after  four  that  after- 

1  Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution,  15.     Niles. 

2  American  Revolution,  I,  282.     Gordon. 


174    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

noon  Archie  McNeil,  Jr.,  and  two  'prentice  lads  were  spin 
ning  in  the  lower  end  of  Daniel  McNeil's  rope  walk  on  High 
and  Pearl  Streets  when  three  stout  grenadiers,  armed  with 
bludgeons,  stopped  and  said,  "You  d — d  dogs,  don't  you 
deserve  to  be  killed?  Are  you  fit  to  die?"  Being  unarmed, 
they  kept  still.  A  sailor,  James  Bayley,  came  along  and 
said  to  young  McNeil,  "Why  did  you  not  answer?"  At 
once  Dixon,  one  of  the  grenadiers,  stepped  forward  briskly 
and  asked  if  he  was  "minded  to  vindicate  the  Cause?" 
Bayley,  being  also  unarmed,  held  his  peace,  but  James 
Young,  just  arrived,  was  quick-tempered  and  scoffed, 
"D —  it,  I  know  what  a  soldier  is!"  One  of  the  grenadiers 
at  this  made  a  lunge,  which  Young  parried  with  his  arm. 
To  make  the  fray  more  equal,  Mr.  Winter  Calef's  journey 
man,  Patrick,  now  slipped  after  a  couple  of  bats  from  the 
tan  house,  and  the  street  was  soon  cleared.  A  little  later, 
about  five,  John  Goddard  of  Brookline  stopped  near  the 
Water  Street  barracks  and  sold  some  of  the  barrack  people 
potatoes.  He  found  several  were  just  back  from  a  squabble 
near  the  ropewalk,  and  he  saw  twenty  surge  angrily  out  of 
the  barrack-way,  one  swearing  he'd  be  revenged  if  he  burnt 
the  town.  Boston  was  all  a-buzz  with  tales  of  the  soldiers' 
hectoring  ways.  That  evening  a  party  were  casting  blame 
on  the  regulars,  when  the  wife  of  James  McDeed,  grenadier 
in  the  29th,  entered  Daniel  Calfe's  shop.  She  broke  out 
passionately  her  people  were  in  the  right  and  before  Tues 
day  or  Wednesday  night  they  would  wet  their  bayonets  in 
New  England  blood. 

Some  time  Saturday,  Middleton,  the  chimney-sweep, 
being  at  John  Gray's  house,  told  the  maid  there,  by  way  of 
warning,  that  he  knew  the  soldiers  well,  and  they  meant 
ill  by  the  ropewalk  people.  Sunday  noon,  to  Gray's  sur 
prise,  Colonel  Carr  and  his  officers  entered  the  ropewalk 
and  opened  windows  and  doors,  alleging  they  were  in  search 
of  the  dead  body  of  one  of  their  sergeants.  Gray  at  once 
waited  on  Lieutenant-Colonel  Win.  Dalrymple,  the  com 
manding  officer,  who  said  he  had  heard  much  the  same  ver- 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  175 

sion  of  the  row  as  Gray.  "Only,"  said  he,  "your  man  was 
the  aggressor  in  affronting  one  of  my  people/'  Learning 
this,  Gray  said  he  would  discharge  William  Green  on  Mon 
day.  Colonel  Carr  came  in  while  they  talked  and  said 
that  three  grenadiers  passing  quietly  by  the  yards  had 
just  been  set  on,  and  one  was  like  to  die.  Then  they 
parted,  Colonel  Dairy mple  engaging  to  keep  his  men  in 
control. 

Sunday  evening  a  soldier  of  the  29th  called  on  a  car 
penter,  one  Amos  Thayer,  and  desired  to  see  him.  A  lad, 
Asa  Copeland,  took  up  the  message,  but  as  Thayer  was 
engaged,  his  sister  Mary  went  to  the  door.  The  soldier 
then  warned  Thayer  to  keep  within  doors  as  trouble  was 
brewing  and  he  did  not  want  him  to  suffer.  He  turned  as 
he  left,  and  said  he  was  Charles  Malone,  and  to  heed  what 
he  said;  before  Tuesday  night  many  lives  would  be  lost. 
A  little  after  dark  Nat  Noyes  met  five  or  six  soldiers  in  Fore 
Street,  all  carrying  clubs.  He  heard  them  say  if  they  met 
any  Towners  out  after  nine,  they  would  knock  them  down 
"be  they  who  they  will."  All  this  was  not  reassuring,  and 
still  the  occasions  for  retaliation  grew.  Benjamin  Burdick, 
of  the  South  End,  had  as  boarder  a  young  fellow  who 
had  earned  the  spite  of  the  soldiers  by  his  activity  in  the 
ropewalk  encounter.  Spied  by  them  in  the  lane,  he  was 
dogged  home,  where  Burdick  later  found  two  soldiers 
lurking  about,  one,  in  particular,  hearkening  at  his  win 
dow.  On  next  meeting  the  man,  Burdick  asked  him  what 
he  was  after,  and  went  on  to  charge  him  further  with  eaves 
dropping  the  previous  night,  ordered  him  to  march  off, 
and  finished  by  drubbing  him  wrell.  About  dusk  Sunday, 
Richard  Ward  and  Bart  Broaders  went  to  see  Patrick 
Dines  of  the  29th,  who  worked  when  not  on  duty  in  the 
peruke  shop  kept  by  John  Piemont,  where  Ward  was 
journeyman.  Dines  lived  in  barracks  at  New  Boston  in 
the  West  End.  While  there,  Ward  heard  an  officer  say  to 
the  sergeants,  "Don't  let  any  of  your  people  out  unless 
there  be  eight  or  ten  together."  In  Dawson's  room,  Broader 


176     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

heard  Sergeant  Daniels  quote  an  officer,  "Since  patience 
would  not  do,  force  must."  Moreover,  that  "the  soldiers 
must  not  bear  the  affronts  of  the  inhabitants  any  longer, 
but  resent  them,  and  make  them  know  their  distance." 
He  added  the  "inhabitants  would  never  be  easy";  for  his 
part  he  should  "desire  to  make  the  plums  fly  about  their 
ears,  and  set  the  town  on  fire  round  them,  and  then  they 
would  know  Who  and  Who  were  of  a  side."  Turning  on 
Broader's  fellow-apprentice,  Edward  Garrick,  the  sergeant 
asked  if  he  knew  where  he  could  get  a  stick  that  would 
bear  a  good  stroke.  Garrick  made  answer  he  must  look 
for  one.  About  nine  the  following  morning,  Jane  Usher, 
from  a  front  chamber  in  John  Scollay's  house,  Dock  Square, 
noticed  two  soldiers  talking,  one  being  mounted,  and  caught 
the  words,  he  "hoped  he  should  see  blood  spilt  before  morn 
ing."  Monday  a  hand-bill  was  posted  up  which  read:1 

"Boston,  Monday  ye  5,  1770, 

This  is  to  Inform  ye  Rebellious  People  in  Boston  that 
ye  Soljers  in  ye  14th  and  29th.  Regiments  are  determined 
to  join  together  and  defend  themselves  against  all  who 
shall  Opose  them.  Signed,  Ye  Soljers  of  ye  14th  and  29th 
Regiments." 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  night  was  one  of 
broils,  culminating  in  what  has  been  called  the  Massacre. 
The  provocation  came  about  equally  from  either  side,  but, 
as  generally  happens,  the  annoyance  and  punishing  lit  on 
the  least  aggressive,  whether  timid  townsman  or  solitary 
sentinel.  Shortly  after  twilight  companies  of  men  and 
boys  began  to  roam  the  streets,  carrying  heavy  sticks  or 
cudgels,  such  as  one  would  pull  in  a  hedge,  "looking  for 
trouble,"  as  the  phrase  goes.  James  Crawford  met  more 
than  a  dozen  at  Calef's  Corner,  and  some  in  Quaker  Lane 
(Congress  Street),  and  by  Mr.  Dalton's,  going  toward  King 
Street,  and  their  clubs  were  "pretty  large."  Archibald 

1  Historic  Pilgrimages  in  N.  E.,  £93.     Bacon. 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  177 

Gooll,  crossing  the  swing  bridge  where  the  vessels  passed 
into  the  Town  Dock,  met  numbers  running  from  all  cor 
ners.  Twenty  or  thirty  had  gathered  near  Green's  Lane. 
John  Ruddock,  Esq.,  met  some  twenty  lads  in  a  bunch 
together,  but  thought  little  of  their  bearing  sticks,  as 
they  had  carried  them  some  months  from  so  often  being 
knocked  about  by  the  regulars.  An  army  officer,  Wm. 
Davis,  going  toward  Wentworth's  wharf,  in  Fore  Street 
at  the  North  End,  came  on  a  large  gang,  walking  two  or 
three  abreast  and  boasting  that  they  would  "do  for  the 
first  officer  or  bloody -backed  rascal"  they  met  that  night. 
They  took  a  full  moment  in  passing.  He  had  stepped  aside, 
and  now,  as  a  matter  of  prudence,  shifted  his  regimentals 
at  a  friend's.  John  Stewart,  going  home  to  Green's  Lane, 
met  five  or  six  with  sticks,  as  many  halfway  down  the  lane, 
and  another  half  dozen  at  the  end;  they  were  heading  into 
town  toward  King  Street.  John  Gillespie,  about  seven, 
left  home  in  Court  Street  to  pass  the  evening,  with  others, 
at  Mr.  Sylvester's  in  the  South  End.  On  the  way  there  he 
met  not  less  than  fifty  as  he  supposed,  "in  small  parcels," 
with  white  sticks.  So  had  the  other  guests,  and  expressed 
concern. 

It  is  more  than  probable  that  these  six  men  met  the 
same  lads  to  a  certain  extent,  for  they  were  drifting  aim 
lessly  about  in  the  fresh  night  air,  to  see  what  the  soldiers 
purposed  doing.  Between  seven  and  eight,  Matt  Adams 
went  to  Quaker  Lane  and  called  on  Corporal  Pershall, 
29th,  who  warned  him  to  keep  in  that  night,  for  the  soldiers 
would  take  revenge  on  the  rope  walkers.  An  eighteen- 
year-old  fifer  present  "hoped  in  G —  they  would  burn  the 
town."  In  accordance  with  their  threats,  parties  of  sol 
diers  were  abroad  so  soon  as  it  grew  dark,  seeking  to  pick 
quarrels.  John  Brailsford,  in  passing  the  sentry  before 
Colonel  Dalrymple's  door  in  Green's  Lane,  asked  Swan 
of  the  29th  for  what  his  people  were  out  troubling  the 
townspeople.  Swan  answered,  "You  will  see;  you'd  better 
go  home." 


178    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Between  seven  and  eight,  Robert  Pierpont  started  for 
Mr.  West's  house  to  see  a  sick  neighbor.  Near  the  Hay- 
market  he  met  two  soldiers;  one  had  a  club,  the  other  a 
broadsword.  Both  were  hurrying  toward  the  Town-house. 
They  shouted  "Colonel"  after  him,  and,  being  joined  by 
a  third  in  a  blue  surtout,  overtook  Pierpont,  at  whom  the 
newcomer  made  a  back-handed  thrust,  as  he  took  it,  more 
to  affront  than  to  injure  him.  Ben  Frizel,  a  sailor  from 
Pownalborough,  Lincoln  County,  on  his  way  to  Captain 
Joseph  Henshaw's  at  the  South  End,  exactly  at  eight,  under 
Liberty  Tree,  met  an  officer  in  a  blue  surtout,  and  eleven 
soldiers.  Loitering  near,  he  heard  the  officer  instruct  them, 
if  they  met  with  more  than  two  townsfolk  together  carrying 
clubs  or  the  like,  to  stop  them,  ask  their  business,  and  if 
they  refused  to  tell  where  they  were  going,  to  stop  them 
with  their  firelocks.  The  officer  then  went  off  to  the  north 
ward  and  the  soldiers  southward,  while  Frizel  continued 
toward  Wheeler's  Point  (near  the  present  Federal  Street). 
About  nine,  as  John  Brown  was  walking  slowly  along  home 
with  Nat  Bosworth,  a  little  south  of  the  Liberty  Tree,  they 
met  six  or  seven  soldiers  with  naked  bayonets  walking 
very  fast  into  town.  One  of  them  said,  "D —  you,  stand 
out  of  the  way,"  and  nearly  felled  Brown  with  a  blow  on 
the  breast,  notwithstanding  he  had  sheared  off  and  made 
room.  At  some  stage  of  the  evening  John  Cox,  at  Gore's 
shop  opposite  the  Tree,  saw  two  soldiers  belonging  to  the 
Neck  and  one  from  the  Main  Guard  about  the  elm.  One, 
a  drummer,  said,  "Bring  half  your  guard  and  we  will  bring 
half  ours,  and  we  will  blow  up  this  d — d  pole."  Cox,  prop 
erly  incensed,  retorted,  "So  sure  as  you  offer,  ye  scoundrels, 
to  blow  up  that  pole,  you  will  have  your  brains  blown 
out." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen,  at  the  outset  the  tumults  were  by 
no  means  restricted  to  one  part  of  the  town,  although  they 
came  to  centre  about  Murray's  barracks  and  end  in  the 
tragedy  at  the  Custom-house  in  King  Street. 

So  much  land  has  been  reclaimed  from  the  sea  in  and 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  179 

about  the  limits  of  Boston  peninsula,  some  study  of  the  old 
streets  and  lanes  is  called  for l  in  order  to  follow  the  night's 
doings  understandingly.  Long  Wharf  and  King  Street 
then  made  a  direct  avenue  to  the  Town-house,  with  its 
sun-dial  glittering  in  the  eastern  gable;  beyond  was  the  Gran 
ary  Burying  Ground,  the  Alarm  Beacon,  and  open  Common, 
bounded  by  the  Back  Bay.  To  the  left  of  Long  Wharf 
rose  Fort  Hill,  in  the  .neighborhood  of  Gray's  ropewalks, 
and  further  to  the  southward  lay  Wheeler's  Point  and  the 
Neck.  Immediately  on  the  right  of  Long  Wliarf,  the  sea 
ran  back  irregularly,  almost  on  a  parallel  with  the  Town 
house,  and  formed  the  Town  Dock.  On  a  northerly  diag 
onal,  at  the  waterside  end  of  this  dock,  flowed  Mill  Creek, 
with  an  average  width  of  twenty  feet,  extending  back  to 
the  Mill  Pond.  This  pond  covered  an  area  as  large  as  the 
Common,  and  was  bounded  on  its  northerly  edge  by  Charles 
River,  from  wThich  it  was  divided  by  a  mill  dam,  the  pres 
ent  Causeway  Street.  New  Boston  lay  on  its  western 
boundary.  The  waters  of  the  creek  wer.e  spanned  by  a 
drawbridge  near  the  intersection  of  Blackstone  and  Anne 
(North)  and  a  Mill  Bridge  at  the  intersection  of  Blackstone 
and  Hanover  Streets,  giving  access  to  the  North  End  proper. 
The  dock,  in  its  turn,  was  crossed  by  a  swing-bridge  at 
the  waterside  end,  directly  opposite  the  so-called  triangu 
lar  warehouse,  a  brick  building  with  slate  roof  and  towers, 
dating  from  1700.  The  upper  part  of  the  Town  Dock 
abutted  on  Dock  Square  —  a  large  space  formed  by  the 
meeting  of  Cornhill,  or  upper  Washington  Street,  on  the 
south,  with  Wing's  Lane  or  Elm  Street  on  the  west,  and 
Union  Street  and  Anne  (North)  Street  on  the  north  and 
east.  Upon  the  brink  of  the  dock  at  this  point  stood  a  watch 
tower,  and  close  by  was  a  conduit  or  reservoir,  about  twelve 
feet  square,  for  the  use  of  the  fire  companies.  Fronting 
the  square,  on  the  corner  of  Anne  or  North  Street,  stood 
a  picturesque  old  building  with  an  overhanging  upper 
story,  its  rough  plaster  walls  covered  with  tracery,  bear- 

1  Landmarks.     Drake. 


180    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

ing  the  date  1680  in  the  western  gable.  This  was  the 
Cocked  Hat,  or,  as  it  was  then  called,  Simpson's  Stone 
Shop. 

Dr.  Richard  Hirons  lived  on  a  corner  in  sight  of  Murray's 
barracks.  A  little  past  eight  he  heard  a  squabble  from  the 
direction  of  the  market ;  armed  soldiers  passed  up  and  down, 
and  men  were  darting  about  across  the  bottom  of  the  street. 
In  about  ten  minutes  came  the  sound  of  one  pelting  through 
Boylston  Alley  toward  the  barrack  gate,  and  for  eight  or 
ten  minutes  a  shout  was  raised,  "Town  born,  turn  out!" 
It  must  have  been  repeated  some  twenty  times.  The  doctor 
thought  he  recognized  Ensign  Mall's  voice  exclaiming: 
"Who  is  this  fellow?  Lay  hold  of  him."  Drawn  by  the  out 
cry,  in  about  fifteen  minutes  Dr.  Hirons  heard  a  great 
hubbub  and  fierce  drumming  of  sticks  upon  his  house 
corner,  which  caused  him  to  lock  his  front  door,  put  out  his 
front  lights,  and  take  post  at  an  upper  chamber  window 
commanding  the  barracks.  At  this  moment  four  or  five 
officers  of  the  29th  stood  on  the  steps,  surrounded  by  twenty 
or  thirty  towners.  A  little  man  in  a  surtout  came  up  and 
addressed  the  officers.  "Why  do  you  not  keep  your  sol 
diers  in  their  barracks?"  Who  replied  they  had  done 
everything  they  possibly  could,  and  would  continue  to. 
The  little  man  persisted,  "Are  the  inhabitants  to  be  knocked 
down  in  the  street?"  The  officers  answered  as  before. 
Not  satisfied,  the  little  man  fumed  impatiently:  "You 
know  the  country  has  been  used  ill.  You  know  the  town 
has  been  used  ill.  We  would  not  have  you  here."  The 
officers  good-naturedly  insisted  for  the  third  time  they 
should  do  their  utmost,  and  asked  the  people  to  disperse. 
A  cry  of  "Home,  Home"  was  started,  and  the  crowd  melted 
away,  perhaps  two-thirds  turning  up  Boylston  Alley  toward 
the  Town-house. 

About  nine,  Captain  James  Kirkwood,  going  by  Murray's 
barracks,  heard  a  commotion  and  stopped  over  the  way  at 
Mr.  Rhodes'  door.  He  saw  soldiers  with  cutlasses  and 
bayonets  take  Boylston  Alley  into  Cornhill.  Lieutenants 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  181 

Minchen  and  Dickson  came  from  the  mess-house  and  said, 
"My  lads,  come  into  the  barracks  and  don't  hurt  the 
Inhabitants,"  after  which  they  turned  back  into  the  mess- 
house,  looking  out  at  the  door  after  an  interval  to  see  if 
the  soldiers  were  in  the  yard.  Directly  after,  Ensign 
Mall  came  to  the  gate  and  incited  the  soldiers:  "Turn 
out  and  I  will  stand  by  you!  Kill  them!  Stick  them! 
Knock  them  down.  Run  your  bayonets  through  them." 
Headed  by  Mall,  a  body  rushed  forth  and  went  up 
Boylston  Alley. 

A  bit  past  nine,  Benjamin  Davis  passed  through  Dock 
Square  returning  from  the  North  End  to  his  home  in  Green's 
Lane.  He  found  there  was  a  quarrel  on  and  stopped  some 
while  at  the  corner  of  Jenkin's  Alley,  whence  he  could  see 
people  collected  close  to  Boylston  Alley  and  hear  the  play 
of  clubs.  As  he  stood,  two  young  men  came  up.  Said  one, 
"Will  you  go  and  help  us  to  fight  the  soldiers?"  to  which 
he  hastened  to  reply,  "No,  I  do  not  intend  to."  The  lad 
then  flung  his  cloak  into  Davis'  arms,  -saying,  "If  you 
will  not  go,  hold  my  cloak,"  and  went  off  seeking  cord- 
wood  sticks  and  hallooing,  "Fire!  Fire!"  About  a  dozen 
came  up  at  this  outcry,  and  an  onset  was  made,  little  knots 
pressing  up  the  passageway  by  the  Town  Pump,  —  which  in 
those  days  stood,  importantly  covered  with  public  notices,1 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  Court  and  Washington  Streets, 
the  road  passing  by  on  either  side,  —  while  Davis  cautiously 
betook  himself  inside  Mrs.  Elliot's  garden  gate,  her  house 
being  beside  Jenkin's  Alley.  From  this  retreat  he  could 
readily  see  the  boys  moving  up  toward  the  barracks, 
followed  by  a  general  run  down-street  again,  as  fast  as 
they  could  come. 

The  squabbling  at  this  point  was  started  about  ten 
minutes  past  nine,  when  four  lads,  Edward  Archbald,  Wm. 
Merchant,  Francis  Archbald,  Jr.,  and  John  Leach,  Jr.,  who 
had  been  strolling  about,  parted  at  Dr.  Loring's  corner. 
Edward  and  William  then  headed  for  Brattle  Street,  through 

1  Landmarks,  84.     Drake. 


182     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

the  alley  that  led  from  Justice  Quincy's  on  Cornhill.  Well 
into  the  passage,  the  boys  met  a  soldier  of  the  29th,  said 
to  have  been  stationed  there  as  sentinel,  who  was  idly  flour 
ishing  a  cutlass  and  making  it  strike  sparks  from  the  wall.1 
By  his  side  was  a  rough-looking  man  with  a  stout,  thick 
club.  A  voice  outside  the  alley  called:  "Put  up  your  cut 
lass.  It  is  not  clever  to  carry  such  a  weapon  at  night 
without  it  is  in  its  scabbard."  Archbald,  remarking  the 
soldier's  action,  warned  his  comrade  to  take  care  not  to  be 
struck,  at  which  the  soldier  turned  upon  him  and  pointed 
his  sword  at  the  lad's  breast  with  a  fierce,  "What  have 
you  to  say  against  it ?  "  "  What  do  you  mean?  Stand  off ! " 
cried  Archbald.  The  soldier  for  answer  struck  Archbald 
on  the  arm,  and  then  pushed  at  Merchant  and  pierced 
through  his  clothes,  inside  the  arm,  close  to  the  armpit,  and 
grazed  the  skin.  At  this  Merchant  struck  the  soldier  with 
a  short  stick  he  had,  and  the  boys  ran  to  the  mouth  of  the 
alley,  where  Archbald  called  to  some  lads  by  the  Town 
house,  and  the  soldiers  were  sent  about-face. 

A  few  minutes  after  nine,  Samuel  Atwood  of  Wellfleet, 
lying  aboard  a  vessel  at  Town  Dock,  heard  an  uproar  at 
the  upper  end  of  Dock  Square.  Running  up  he  found  sol 
diers  and  inhabitants,  mostly  unarmed  boys,  in  a  narrow 
pass  way  by  the  barracks.  When  the  boys  broke  and  gave 
way,  ten  or  twelve  soldiers  bolted  into  Dock  Square.  "Do 
you  intend  to  murder  people?"  asked  he.  They  closed  in 
on  him  with  a  "Yes,  by—  — ,  root  and  branch,  here's  one!" 
cutting  him  on  the  left  shoulder  to  the  bone.  As  Atwood 
drew  off  he  met  two  officers  and  said,  by  way  of  protest, 
"Gentlemen,  what  is  the  matter?"  merely  receiving  a 
curt,  "You  will  see  by  and  by."  On  the  first  outbreak 
in  the  Cornhill  region,  Jeremy  Belknap  ran  to  the  door  and 
heard  Wm.  Merchant  say  he  had  been  struck  by  a  soldier. 
Presently  eight  or  nine  soldiers  came  out  of  Boylston's 
Alley  into  the  street,  armed  with  clubs  and  cutlasses. 
Belknap  desired  them  to  retire  into  their  barracks.  One 

1  War  in  America,  I,  221.      Murray. 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  183 

then  made  for  him,  cutlass  and  club  in  either  hand.  Bel- 
knap  ran  to  the  Main  Guard,  opposite  the  south  door  of  the 
Town-house,  where  the  men  commonly  met  before  being 
assigned  their  posts,  and  called  for  an  officer.  He  was  told 
no  officer  was  there.  Several  soldiers  came  to  the  guard 
house  door,  and  Belknap  represented  there  would  be  blood 
shed  if  a  squad  was  not  sent  down  to  prevent  it.  As  he 
spoke,  two  soldiers,  supposed  to  have  followed  him  down 
from  Murray's  barracks,  made  a  thrust  at  his  breast  and 
hit  him  over  the  head.  The  guard  at  this  point  interposed, 
"This  is  a  Constable,"  and  they  went  away. 

Robert  Polley  and  ten  more  stood  talking  their  encounter 
over  near  Mr.  Taylor's  when,  five  or  six  minutes  later,  a 
party  of  seven  or  eight  soldiers,  set  on  by  Ensign  Mall, 
sprang  out  of  Boylston  Alley,  bent  on  retaliating.  As 
they  came  they  shouted:  "Where  is  the  Yankee  boogers?" 
striking  recklessly  at  passers-by.  Some  had  drawn  swords 
and  one  had  caught  up  a  pair  of  tongs,  another  the  fire-shovel. 
The  foremost  soldier,  with  tongs,  followed  hard  after  Arch- 
bald,  who  was  talking  with  John  Hicks  at  the  time,  and 
when  he  had  secured  him  by  the  collar,  struck  him  with 
them.  However,  Hicks  in  defending  Archbald  succeeded 
in  knocking  the  soldier  down,  and  Archbald  threw  him 
again,  breaking  his  wrist,  as  he  heard  later.  Leach  was 
likewise  thrown,  but  in  the  end  Policy's  party  pressed  the 
soldiers  back  with  their  sticks,  and  two  officers  drove  the 
men  inside  the  barracks. 

Dr.  Jeffries'  father  lived  opposite  Mr.  Cooper's  meeting 
house  in  Brattle  Close,  where  the  brother  of  the  town  clerk, 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Cooper,  preached.  A  woman  neighbor 
now  ran  in  there,  crying,  "Pray,  Sir,  come  out,  there  will 
be  murder.  The  soldiers  and  people  are  fighting."  Look 
ing  out,  the  Doctor  saw  the  passage  closed  by  a  crowd  of 
all  sorts;  the  alley  was  as  full  as  it  could  hold,  the  officers 
forcing  the  men  back,  the  soldier  with  the  tongs  being  among 
the  last  to  leave.  Archbald  then  started  for  his  home  in 
the  South  End.  Polley  and  others  searched  about  for 


184    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

stones  and  bricks  against  renewing  the  conflict,  but  the 
snow  was  a  foot  deep,  too  deep  to  reach  any. 

The  clamor  rising  from  all  this  disturbed  the  whole 
neighborhood.  Samuel  Drowne  from  his  own  house  door  in 
Cornhill  witnessed  the  whole  scene.  The  tongs  showed  quite 
plainly  in  the  bright  moonlight.  The  soldiers  assaulted 
those  quietly  walking  or  standing  nearly  as  often  as  those 
who  were  turbulent,  he  himself  amongst  the  number. 

Drawn  to  the  door  by  the  unusual  noise,  Mr.  Nat  Thayer, 
who  also  lived  in  Cornhill,  saw  a  crowd  by  Mr.  Quincy's, 
near  the  barracks,  and  "heard  the  sticks  and  clubs  going." 
Mr.  Nathaniel  Appleton,  sitting  quietly  at  home,  heard  a 
noise  at  the  bottom  of  the  street,  and  was  told  there  was 
fighting.  He  saw  people  run  by  his  door  in  twos  and  threes. 
The  sound  had  seemed  to  come  from  Dock  Square  and  died 
away  finally. 

As  the  nine  o'clock  bell  rang  Henry  Bass  set  out  from 
his  home  in  Winter  Street  to  see  a  friend  near  Dr.  Cooper's 
meeting-house.  As  he  went  along  Main  (Washington) 
Street,  the  night  was  pleasant  with  a  very  bright  moon. 
This  brought  him  near  Boylston  Alley;  between  the  alley 
and  Mr.  Jackson's  were  six  or  eight  boys,  of  twelve  or  fif 
teen  years,  having  light  walking-sticks.  They  gave  a  huzza, 
and  four  stout  soldiers  sallied  from  the  passage  with  drawn 
cutlasses.  Cutting  and  slashing,  they  dashed  after  their 
tormentors,  and  pursued  Bass,  himself,  below  Mr.  Simpson's 
stone  shop.  He  never  left  running  until  he  felt  safe  at 
Colonel  Jackson's.  In  Dock  Square  he  encountered  the 
oysterman,  who  showed  his  wounded  shoulder,  lamenting, 
"D —  it,  here  is  what  I  got  by  going  up!"  Bass  put  his 
finger  to  it,  when  it  bled  freely,  and  some  twenty  people 
collected  and  crowded  'round  to  see  and  listen. 

Taking  the  alley  to  be  unsafe,  Bass  returned  home  by 
Royal  Exchange  Lane  (now  Exchange  Street) .  As  he  passed 
the  Custom-house,  on  his  left,  entering  King  Street,  he 
noticed  the  sentinel  standing  quietly,  close  to  the  corner. 
Notwithstanding  the  pleasantness  of  the  evening,  Bass  did 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  185 

not  see  a  dozen  persons  between  the  Crown  Coffee-house, 
the  first  house  on  Long  Wharf,  and  the  bottom  of  the  Town 
house.  At  the  head  of  the  street,  however,  he  was  asked 
by  many  about  the  affray  at  Murray's  barracks,  and  told 
them  it  was  over.  It  was  now  about  a  quarter  past  nine. 
A  man  had  been  posted  at  the  Custom-house  for  some 
months  past,  by  the  authority  of  Colonel  Dalrymple,  to 
guard  the  cashier's  office,  books,  and  money  chest.  It 
may  have  been  about  this  time  Samuel  Clark  came  along 
and  was  hailed  by  the  sentry,  pacing  to  and  fro,  and  asked 
how  all  did  at  home.  If  Hugh  White  had  taken  the  King's 
shilling  and  wore  a  scarlet  coat,  he  was  nevertheless  a  human 
being.  The  people  only  drew  trouble  on  their  heads  by 
forgetting  this,  later. 

Some  of  the  boys,  after  running  from  the  soldiers,  kept 
on  to  Market  Square,  and  helped  themselves  to  staves  and 
pine  pieces.  Wm.  Parker  was  at  Mr.  Coleman's  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Market.  Crossing  to  the  south  side,  he 
saw  seven  or  eight,  mostly  boys  from  eighteen  to  twelve  or 
less,  three  or  four  of  whom  were  inside  the  rails  plucking 
sticks  from  butchers'  stalls.  A  soldier  coming  up,  they  went 
at  him  in  a  swarm,  crying:  "Here  is  a  d —  soldier!  They  are 
all  alike,  he  is  as  bad  as  any."  Parker  rescued  him  and 
went  home,  past  the  Golden  Ball  and  up  into  King  Street. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  evening,  near  eight,  Bart 
Broaders,  a  barber's  boy  already  mentioned,  met  a  dozen 
towners  in  King  Street  with  clubs,  who  told  him  they  had 
been  attacked.  He  followed  as  far  as  the  conduit  with 
them  and  went  home.  Here  he  remained  quietly  until 
called  from  the  shop,  because  of  the  rioting,  to  attend  Mr. 
Green's  daughter  and  maid  to  the  apothecary's.  This 
would  appear  to  be  Mary  Rogers  and  Ann  Green,  whose 
father,  Bartholomew  Green,  was  resident-tenant  at  the 
Custom-house.  After  doing  their  errand,  the  three  met 
Edward  Garrick,  Broaders'  fellow-apprentice.  Just  at 
the  Custom-house  door,  Hammond  Green,  a  young  boat- 
builder,  came  up.  Seeing  them,  Green  called  cheerily, 


186    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

"Come  in,  girls,"  and  they  entered,  followed  by  the  'pren 
tice  lads.  They  had  been  there  but  a  short  time  when 
Sawny  Irving  entered,  having  lost  his  hat  and  being  a  little 
angry.  Presently  he  asked  Hammond  to  take  a  candle 
and  light  him  to  the  door,  and  went  out,  the  boys  follow 
ing  at  his  heels,  all  alert  to  miss  nothing  this  stirring  night. 
As  Broaders  and  Garrick  followed  Irving  out,  John  Green, 
Hammond's  brother,  and  two  more  of  Piemont's  boys, 
entered  the  kitchen. 

Perhaps  Garrick  found  it  a  little  slow  in  King  Street  for 
his  taste.  At  all  events,  he  soon  stirred  up  trouble  with  his 
saucy  tongue.  Seeing  Captain  John  Goldfinch  passing 
along,  Garrick  must  needs  sing  out,  "There  goes  the 
fellow  that  hath  not  paid  my  master  for  dressing  his  hair!" 
Conscious  of  Piemont's  receipt  in  his  pocket,  the  dapper 
little  officer  continued  calmly  on,  paying  no  heed  to  the 
youngster. 

Not  so  the  sentinel,  who  said  in  the  captain's  hearing, 
"He  is  a  gentleman,  and  if  he  owes  you  anything  will  pay 
it."  Garrick  made  some  exasperating  reply,  and  Hugh 
White,  leaving  his  post,  chased  him  into  the  street. 
Broaders,  who  had  only  taken  a  turn  through  Quaker  Lane, 
was  now  retracing  his  way  and  heard  the  sentinel  say,  "Let 
me  see  your  face."  "I  am  not  ashamed  to  show  my  face," 
answered  Garrick  impudently.  At  which  the  soldier,  some 
what  rashly,  gave  him  a  sweeping  stroke  at  the  side  of  his 
head,  so  that  he  "reeled,  and  cried  much."  Hurrying  across 
the  street,  Broaders  asked  Garrick  what  it  was  about,  who 
said  "nothing."  He  then  asked  the  sentry  what  he  meant 
by  abusing  him  that  way.  White,  thoroughly  roused, 
said,  "D —  it,  if  you  do  not  get  out  of  the  way  I  will  give 
you  something."  He  then  fixed  his  bayonet. 

Wm.  Tyler  had  entered  the  street  just  in  time  to  hear 
Garrick's  first  cry  of  distress.  Only  five  or  six  people  were 
then  about.  Stepping  up  to  the  boy,  he  heard  his  story. 
Benjamin  Davis,  Jr.,  reached  King  Street  in  time  to  see  a 
cluster  about  Mr.  Greenleaf's  by  the  Custom-house.  Hear- 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  187 

ing  Garrick's  complaint,  he  asked  White  what  business  he 
had  to  do  such  a  thing.  The  sentry  remarked  Garrick 
"should  not  use  an  officer  ill  in  the  street."  Wm.  Lewis 
now  came  in  sight;  the  boys  hoped  the  tables  would  be 
turned  by  numbers,  and  started  a  huzza.  John  Green,  a 
little  before  this,  hearing  the  noise  at  Murray's  barracks, 
had  gone  out  by  the  back  door  to  the  corner  of  Royal  Ex 
change  Lane,  together  with  Hammond  and  the  two  other 
'prentices.  They  now  came  up  and  found  four  or  five  boys 
and  the  sentry  growling  and  muttering;  he  "seemed  very 
mad."  Richard  Ward,  a  journeyman  of  Piemont's,  would 
have  borrowed  Garrick's  stick,  but  he  would  not  part  with 
it.  Garrick  continued  crying,  and  two  brothers,  Wm.  and 
Francis  Le  Baron,  heard  the  sentinel  say,  If  he  did  not 
hold  his  tongue,  he'd  put  a  ball  through  him.  This 
threat  was  doubtless  to  daunt  them  and  prevent  a  mob 
gathering.  White  then  went  back  to  his  beat,  and  Garrick 
went  off  sobbing.  After  following  John  Green  up  to  the 
Brazen  Head,  a  few  boys  lingered  about, -but  Colonel  Mar 
shall,  who  had  not  long  come  from  Colonel  Jackson's  in 
Dock  Square,  bade  them  be  gone,  saying,  "Boys,  you  have 
no  business  with  the  sentry,  go  off,"  and  they  moved  on. 
He  had  often  seen  them  about  the  post  and  heard  words; 
he  supposed  this  wrangling  was  of  the  same  sort.  Johnny 
Appleton,  Mr.  Nathaniel  Appleton's  twelve-year-old  son, 
had  been  sent  with  a  younger  brother  to  do  an  errand  in 
King  Street.  Hearing  the  talk  about  the  sentry-box,  he 
ran  outside  the  shop,  and  as  a  quarrel  seemed  to  be  breaking 
out  there,  hurried  along  toward  home,  taking  Jenkin's  Alley. 
The  group  of  boys  seem  to  have  gone  away  for  a  time, 
only  to  increase  their  party.  Alexander  Cruckshank  saw 
twelve  or  fourteen  about  the  sentry-box  as  he  came  from 
Exchange  Lane,  and  lingered  at  Stone's  Tavern  watching 
them.  The  two  foremost  would  twit  the  sentry,  calling 
him  "lobster,"  "rascal,"  and  "wish  him  in  hell's  flames." 
When  they  had  stung  him  to  a  rejoinder,  the  little  scamps 
would  run  back  to  their  mates.  The  sentinel,  much  nettled, 


188     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

asserted  it  was  his  post  and  he'd  hold  it,  and  if  they 
molested  him  run  them  through. 

To  Thomas  Hall,  a  friend  of  his,  standing  by  Stone's 
Tavern,  White  said,  "Hall,  I  am  molested  and  imposed 
upon  on  my  post.  I  cannot  keep  my  post  clear."  Hall 
answered,  "Take  care  of  yourself;  there'll  be  trouble  by 
and  by."  It  was  getting  late,  and  cold  under  foot,  so 
that  Wm.  Parker  joined  James  Bayard  on  the  tavern  steps 
to  watch  the  boys.  Three  or  four  were  still  about,  one 
being  Garrick,  harping  on  his  injuries.  The  lads  pushed 
each  other  at  the  sentry,  and  succeeded  in  hustling  him 
into  his  box.  Parker  remarked  to  Bayard,  "There'll  be 
trouble  by  and  by."  Snowballs  were  thrown  at  length, 
and  a  handful  of  oyster  shells,  two  or  three  of  which  hit 
White's  gun.  He  might  not  leave  his  post  and  the  boys 
knew  it,  but  the  Main  Guard  house  was  near.  Suddenly, 
pressed  beyond  endurance,  the  sentinel  hallooed  very 
loud:  "Guard!  Guard!  Guard!"  This  was  enough.  There 
was  a  great  noise  in  Silsby's  Lane,  and  seven  or  eight  sol 
diers  came  out  and  ran  down  in  surtouts  from  the  direc 
tion  of  the  Main  Guard  house,  which,  it  will  be  remembered, 
stood  opposite  the  south  door  of  the  Town-house.  They 
were  armed,  and  cried,  "D —  them,  where  are  they?"  as 
they  squared  off  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  opposite  Royal 
Exchange  Lane.  The  boys  had  discreetly  moved  off,  back 
of  the  Town-house  by  the  barber's  shop.  Cruckshank, 
midway  across  the  street,  going  toward  Pudding  Lane 
(Devonshire  Street),  was  halted  by  three  or  four  soldiers, 
who  cursed  and  asked  him  who  he  was.  He  answered  he 
was  going  home  peaceably  and  interfered  with  neither 
faction.  He  was  then  given  a  light  stroke  over  the  shoulder 
with  the  words,  "You'd  better  get  home,  for  all  I  can  fore 
see  there'll  be  the  devil  to  pay." 

When  Colonel  Thomas  Marshall  left  Dock  Square  at 
four  minutes  past  nine,  he  returned  to  a  quiet  street  bathed 
in  moonlight,  only  the  sentry  about,  in  perfect  peace. 
However,  he  had  scarcely  exchanged  greetings  with  a  kins- 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  189 

man  awaiting  him  when  a  young  man  in  his  shop  knocked 
and  called  his  attention  to  cries  of  ''Murder!"  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Rowe's  barracks.  "There  is  mischief  in  the  dis 
tance,"  said  the  colonel;  to  which  the  clerk  replied,  "So 
there  is."  In  a  little  space  the  sentry's  call  brought  down 
a  troop  of  soldiers  to  his  aid.  Colonel  Marshall  saw  them 
swinging  along,  in  a  perfect  fury.  The  street  was  almost 
as  bright  as  day,  and  their  arms  glittered  as  they  spread 
about  with  cries  of  "By — ,  let  'em  come."  Some  turned 
into  Pudding  Lane,  others  went  by  the  Town-house  steps. 
The  colonel  was  called  in  from  the  door,  but  telling  his 
family  to  keep  themselves  easy,  there  was  no  disturbance 
near,  he  returned.  The  party  came  on  down  as  far  as 
Mr.  Phillips'  corner.  Standing  at  the  head  of  Quaker  Lane 
(Congress  Street),  they  cried,  "Fire!  Fire!"  Then  they 
passed  into  shadow  and  Marshall  could  not  see  whether 
they  crossed  to  Exchange  Lane  or  returned  toward  the 
guard-house.  Four  of  them  in  short  jackets  with  drawn 
swords  sprang  out  on  Lewis,  between  the 'watch-house  and 
Town-house  steps,  from  the  east  end  of  the  house,  and 
chased  him  clear  to  his  door.  By  a  parting  stroke  he  re 
ceived  a  three-square  hole  in  the  skirt  of  his  surtout.  The 
soldiers  continued  to  shout:  "Where  are  the  d —  boogers? 
The  cowards!  Where  are  your  Liberty  boys?"  One  of 
them  spied  Win.  Le  Baron  and  made  passes  at  him,  thrusting 
his  sword  between  his  arm  and  breast.  Being  unarmed, 
Le  Baron  ran,  followed  by  a  soldier  with  a  naked  bayonet, 
hallooing,  "Fire!"  which  some  supposed  was  a  rallying 
word.  Tyler,  going  to  Cornhill,  heard  the  redcoats  racing 
in  that  direction,  calling,  "Where  are  your  Sons  of  Liberty?" 
Isaac  Parker  going  to  Mr.  Richard  Salter's  door,  a 
soldier  aimed  a  cutlass  stroke  at  his  head,  forcing  him  to 
make  a  swift  retreat  indoors.  Mr.  Nathaniel  Appleton, 
standing  at  his  door,  opposite  the  Town  Pump,  with  Deacon 
Marsh,  had  an  even  narrower  escape.  They  saw  the  knot 
of  regulars  coming  on  violently  from  the  southward,  some 
in  small  clothes  and  white  sleeves,  carrying  bayonets. 


190    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

They  were  pushing  right  on  down  the  street  when,  to  Mr. 
Appleton's  utter  amazement,  some  turned  aside  and  threat 
ened  him,  with  uplifted  cutlasses,  he  and  Deacon  Marsh 
not  having  spoken,  or  offered  the  least  provocation.  He 
went  in  as  fast  as  he  could,  and  shut  to  his  door  and  bolted 
it,  the  soldier  then  being  within  six  inches  of  the  door,  so 
that  escape  was  difficult.  Looking  out  from  an  upper 
window,  Appleton  saw  the  people  "flying  like  pigeons." 
The  soldiers  ran  about  in  a  mad  fury  until  lost  to  sight 
at  the  bottom  of  the  street.  Mr.  Nat  Thayer's  wife,  hear 
ing  so  great  a  noise,  said  to  him,  "You  had  better  go  to  the 
door  and  see  what  the  matter  is."  He  saw  a  jumble  of 
twenty  soldiers  and  towners  struggling  together  and  swear 
ing  terribly.  Upon  them  came  seven  soldiers  in  waist 
coats  from  the  direction  of  the  Main  Guard,  driving  along 
"like  wild  creatures."  "Where  are  they? "  " Cut  them  to 
pieces!"  they  shouted.  "Slay  them  all."  Some  of  them 
insulted  him  on  his  very  threshold  and  he  shut  to  the  door 
and  went  in. 

On  the  way  back  to  King  Street,  the  soldiers  seem  to 
have  encountered  the  two  Appleton  children  in  Jenkin's 
Alley.  They  looked  twenty  in  number  to  the  two  little 
boys.  The  younger  brother  fell  as  they  ran  past.  Johnny 
feared  for  their  lives  and  cried,  "Soldier,  spare  my  life." 
He  was  harshly  answered,  "No,  d —  you,  we  will  kill  you 
all."  The  boy  dodged,  and  a  stroke  aimed  at  his  head 
glanced  lightly  on  his  shoulder,  causing  him,  however,  to 
fall  and  receive  a  bruise.  From  its  rattle,  the  child  supposed 
the  cutlass  to  have  been  sheathed.  The  little  fellow  lay 
still  until  the  soldiers  were  all  gone  and  then  hurried  home 
to  Cornhill.  For  no  time  that  evening  was  it  quiet  long 
together  about  Murray's  barracks.  Some  towners  had 
scarcely  strolled  that  way  from  the  market  before  that 
evil  genius  of  the  night,  Garrick,  whom  Dr.  Hirons  took  to 
be  only  seven  or  eight  years  old,  came  down  the  alley, 
clapping  his  hand  to  his  head  and  whimpering,  "I  am  killed. 
I  am  killed."  An  officer  caught  hold  of  him  and  said, 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  191 

"D —  you,  little  rascal,  what  business  have  you  out  of 
doors."  What,  indeed;  but  he  had  with  his  usual  zeal 
brought  on  a  fresh  row:  surely  this  was  reason  enough!  A 
crowd  now  filled  the  alley,  and  a  few  stood  about  the  meet 
ing-house.  Still  watching,  Dr.  Hirons  saw  a  soldier  stride 
out  of  the  barrack  gate,  face  the  alley  from  the  middle  of 
the  street,  drop  on  one  knee,  and  level  his  musket,  swearing 
as  he  did  so,  "I'll  make  a  lane  through  you  all!"  Ensign 
Mall  helped  Lieutenants  Dixon  and  Minchin  shove  him 
back  to  quarters.  About  this  time  Captain  Goldfinch, 
passing  over  Cornhill,  saw  a  throng  about  the  passageway 
leading  into  Brattle  Street.  Some  inhabitants  asked  him 
to  make  an  effort  to  get  the  soldiers  in  or  there  would  be 
trouble.  It  was  all  the  captain  could  do  to  get  through 
the  press.  At  the  other  end  he  found  the  soldiers  being 
snowballed. 

Charles  Hobby,  alarmed  by  the  cry  of  "fire,"  ran  down 
as  far  as  the  Town-house,  where  he  learned  there  was  squab 
bling  in  the  alley  by  Dr.  Cooper's  meeting-house.  He  went 
through  it  and  saw  the  soldiers  about  the  barracks,  some 
with  and  some  without  muskets;  Captain  Goldfinch,  one 
of  a  party  of  officers,  standing  on  the  mess-house  steps  oppo 
site  the  alley.  Again  the  officers  were  implored  to  keep 
the  peace.  This  time  Lieutenant  Minchin  answered 
the  soldiers  had  a  grudge  for  the  late  abuses,  but  would 
keep  in  if  the  towners  did.  The  soldier  who  had  defied 
the  crowd  now  broke  forth  again,  and  in  the  act  of  present 
ing  his  piece  was  thrown  by  Ensign  Mall,  who  drove  him 
within,  being  forced  to  prick  him.  As  senior  officer,  Cap 
tain  Goldfinch  now  ordered  the  gate  to  be  closed  —  a  simple 
measure  which,  done  earlier,  would  have  prevented  all 
trouble;  now,  however,  the  crowd  was  excited  and  made 
up  of  a  rough  element,  from  the  wharves  and  waterside. 

When  the  gate  swung  to,  some  forty  or  fifty  towners 
crowded  about  it  and  talked  jeeringly.  Snowballs  fell  in 
showers,  mingled  with  taunts.  "Cowardly  rascals." 
"Afraid  to  fight!"  "Lobster  backs."  "Let  us  drive  out 


192    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

the  ribalds,  they  have  no  business  here."  Thomas  Symmonds 
from  his  house  door  heard  strangers  to  him  threaten  to  set 
fire  to  the  four  corners  of  the  barracks  and  burn  every  d — d 
soul,  if  the  soldiers  would  not  come  forth  and  fight.  The 
street  was  alive  writh  men  passing  back  and  forth.  Dr. 
Jeffries  saw  snowballs  flatten  on  the  door,  back  of  the 
officers.  The  officers,  at  this,  desired  the  people  to  leave, 
stating  they  had  done  their  part:  the  soldiers  were  turned 
in  and  lodged  for  the  night.  Shouts  rose  from  the  mob: 
"They  dare  not  come  out.  You  mean  you  dare  not  let 
them  out." 

Policy,  who  had  taken  part  in  the  earlier  disturbance, 
only  saw  this  from  a  distance,  having  met  the  guard-house 
party,  who  finally  left  in  the  direction  of  Exchange  Lane 
and  King  Street.  One  of  the  lads  now  proposed  to  ring 
the  fire  alarm.  The  suggestion  was  at  once  acted  on. 
Cruckshank  had  seen  the  soldiers  driven  up  by  the  guard 
house,  pursued  by  sixteen  or  eighteen  youths,  whose  ages 
varied  from  sixteen  to  five-and-twenty.  Stepping  briskly 
on,  he  tried  to  get  sheltered  at  Jones'  apothecary  shop,  but 
the  door  was  locked,  and  he  went  to  the  side  of  the  brick 
meeting-house.  Standing  there  he  saw  two  or  three  boys 
pushed  up  at  the  windows,  that  they  might  scramble  in 
and  peal  the  bell.  After  the  first  party  of  soldiers  sallied 
forth  from  the  guard-house  direction,  Colonel  Marshall 
saw  a  second  burst  out  from  Quaker  Lane.  Going  toward 
Silsby's  Alley,  Bart  Broaders,  the  barber's  lad,  seems  to 
have  fallen  foul  of  them.  They  were  led  by  a  sergeant, 
hallooing,  "Where  are  the  d-  Yankees?"  "What's  the 
matter?"  he  asked.  They  answered,  "We'll  let  you  know!" 
and  he  ran  to  hide  in  Master  Piemont's  entry.  The  bell- 
ringing  had  just  started,  and  at  Widow  Mehitable  Torrey 's, 
by  the  Town  Pump,  four  people  stood  at  the  door  anxiously 
looking  for  signs  of  fire.  These  were  the  widow;  her  brother, 
Bartholomew  Kneeland,  a  merchant  lodging  there;  Matthias 
King,  a  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  man;  and  one  more.  They 
saw  soldiers  come  'round  the  south  side  of  the  Town-house 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  193 

and  approach  noisily,  carrying  broadswords  and  bayonets. 
As  they  drew  near,  they  shouted:  "D —  it,  what  do  you 
there?  Get  in."  One  of  them,  belonging  to  the  29th,  crossed 
the  gutter  and  pointed  his  bayonet  within  six  inches  of 
Kneeland's  breast,  holding  it  there  "some  time."  Knee- 
land  told  him  to  "get  along,"  and  retired,  the  soldiers 
keeping  on  toward  the  Post-office,  farther  up  Cornhill, 
towards  Dock  Square. 

Richard  Palmes,  hearing  the  bell,  supposed  there  was  a 
fire,  but  was  told,  probably  by  Broaders,  that  the  soldiers  at 
Murray's  barracks  were  abusing  the  townspeople.  Going 
up  to  some  officers  before  the  door  there,  Palmes,  who  was 
a  little  man  wearing  a  great  coat  of  light  brown,  protested 
he  was  "surprised  they  suffered  the  soldiers  out  of  the 
barracks  after  eight  o'clock."  An  officer  spoke  up,  some 
what  tartly,  "Pray,  do  you  mean  to  teach  us  our  duty?" 
Palmes  answered  he  did  not,  "only  to  remind  them  of  it." 
Another  said  soothingly,  "You  see,  they  are  all  in.  Why 
do  you  not  go  home?  "  The  officers  likewise  promised  inves 
tigation  next  day  and  satisfaction  for  any  injuries.  Mr. 
James  Lamb  and  Richard  Palmes  then  said,  "Gentlemen, 
let  us  go  home,"  and  turning  to  the  crowd  added,  "Y^ou 
hear  the  officers,  the  soldiers  are  in.  You  had  better  go 
home."  "Home!"  "Home!"  was  echoed,  and  Lamb 
and  Palmes  set  off,  with  Wm.  Hickling,  whom  they  left 
at  the  Post-office.  Some  of  the  mob  now  shouted,  "Come 
home."  Others,  more  mischievous,  cried:  "No,  we  shall 
find  some  soldiers  in  King  Street.  To  the  Main  Guard!" 
Three  cheers  were  given,  and  they  parted  just  as  Broaders 
joined  them.  A  number  then  passed  up  the  alley,  rippling 
their  sticks  on  the  fences  and  side  walls.  Dr.  Jeffries  kept 
them  under  his  eye,  following  after  them  through  the  alley 
into  Cornhill.  Just  as  he  cleared  it,  the  Brick  Church  bell 
started  ringing.  This  church  stood  opposite  King  Street, 
where  Sears  Building  is  now.  People  turned  out  with 
buckets  on  all  sides.  Behind  and  before  he  heard  the 
words,  "Where's  the  fire?"  "It's  soldiers  fighting." 


194    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

"They  are  this  way."  "There  is  no  fire."  "Fire!  fire!" 
"Where  is  it?" 

Still  following  the  mob,  Dr.  Jeffries  heard  them  beat 
against  Jackson's  shop  windows,  saying,  "D —  it,  here 
lives  an  importer."  Several  standing  by  the  Town-house 
threw  ice  and  broke  four  panes.  Just  then  Mr.  Cazneau 
came  up  and  said:  "Do  not  meddle  with  Mr.  Jackson. 
Let  him  alone.  Do  not  break  his  windows."  The  larger 
part  then  pushed  down  the  north  side  of  King  Street. 
Others  kept  on  past  the  west  door  of  the  Town-house, 
clamoring,  "No,  we  will  go  to  the  Guard."  A  cheer  was 
heard  lower  down  the  street,  and  the  mob  surged  toward 
it  on  the  south  side  of  the  Town-house,  leaving  the  guard 
house  unmolested  behind. 

Dr.  Jeffries  then  returned  home.  The  officers  were  still 
at  the  mess-house  door,  Captain  Goldfinch  just  telling  Lieu 
tenant  Dixon  that  he  must  rejoin  his  own  command.  The 
bell  was  ringing,  and  fearing  the  consequences,  an  officer 
said,  "Pray  stop  it." 

An  outbreak  of  fire  is  always  dreaded,  and  these  were 
the  days  when  Boston  was  largely  built  of  wood  and  crowded 
within  its  original  limits.  To  fight  the  flames  there  was 
only  the  small  conduit,  well  water,  and  queer  little  hand 
engines  served  by  buckets;  an  alarm  at  once  filled  the  streets 
with  swarms  of  volunteer  helpers,  humming  like  disturbed 
bees.  Moreover,  this  night,  the  soldiers'  threats  were 
remembered  by  some.  Thomas  Wilkinson  heard  the  Old 
South  bell  go  as  usual  at  nine.  At  about  9.15,  startled  by 
Mr.  Cooper's  bell,  he  slipped  on  his  surtout  and  ran  out. 
He  saw  the  Old  South  engine  hauled  out  and  ran  up  as  far 
as  the  Town  Pump,  finding  a  considerable  body  of  people 
there,  some  with  buckets.  Those  arriving  from  the  South 
End  were  questioning,  "Where's  the  fire?  where's  the  fire?" 
People  warned  the  newcomers  from  their  chamber  windows. 
"Do  not  go  on  or  you'll  be  killed."  As  they  paused,  wonder 
ing,  the  moon  was  so  bright  Wilkinson  could  see  ten  or  twelve 
soldiers,  brandishing  cutlasses,  make  a  rush  out  of  Boyl- 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  195 

ston  Alley.  "He  did  not  tarry  one  minute,"  but  drew  back 
to  the  Main  Guard,  where  the  two  sentries  were  walking 
as  usual.  The  Old  Brick  bell,  Dr.  Charles  Chauncy's,  now 
began  to  add  to  the  confusion,  and  people  multiplied,  with 
buckets  and  bags  for  rescuing  valuables.  Wilkinson  con 
tinued  waiting  about  to  learn  if  any  were  wounded. 

John  Short  heard  the  bells  and  went  as  far  as  Faneuil 
Hall  and  Mr.  Jackson's  shop,  looking  for  news.  Josiah 
Simpson  came  out  of  his  stone  shop  to  make  inquiry,  and 
was  told  the  soldiers  had  risen  on  the  towners;  two  young 
men  had  been  abused. 

People  were  thick  in  Cornhill;  understanding  an  oyster- 
man  had  been  hurt,  Short  went  on  board  the  oyster  boat 
to  hear  more.  Up  by  the  North  Battery,  Caleb  Swan,  in 
Mr.  Sample's  doorway,  heard  the  wife  of  Grenadier  Mont 
gomery,  standing  at  her  door,  say:  "This  is  no  fire.  The 
town  is  too  haughty  and  proud,  and  many  will  be  laid  low 
before  morning."  Susanna  Cathcart  retorted,  "I  hope 
your  husband  will  be  killed."  The  woman  answered, 
"He  is  able,  and  will  stand  his  ground."  A  free  woman, 
known  as  Black  Peg,  who  had  kept  much  with  the  soldiers, 
on  hearing  the  disturbance  said,  "The  soldiers  are  not  to 
be  trod  upon  by  the  inhabitants,  but  would  know  before 
morning  whether  they  or  the  inhabitants  are  masters." 

James  Thompson  came  out  of  the  Green  Dragon  about 
nine,  crossed  King  Street,  and  went  through  Quaker  Lane 
to  Green's.  Going  along  he  met  about  fifteen,  all  told, 
with  pretty  sizable  sticks,  walking  either  side  the  street. 
He  overheard  one  say,  "We  are  too  soon."  Thompson 
passed  on,  boarded  a  vessel  at  Griffin's  Wharf,  and  men 
tioned  to  others  he  feared  mischief.  Then  followed  a 
bell.  All  went  on  deck.  Hearing  "Fire"  called,  four  ran  up 
into  the  town  and  left  him.  Thompson  climbed  aloft  to 
get  an  outlook,  and  heard  the  engine  rush  along  and  stop. 
He  also  heard  Mrs.  Marston,  tavern-keeper  at  the  head  of 
the  wharf,  exclaim:  "Good  — !  this  is  not  fire.  There 
will  be  murder  committed  to-night."  Andrew,  Oliver 


196    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

WendalTs  negro,  hearing  the  bells,  ran  to  the  end  of  the  lane, 
where  he  met  a  friend  nursing  his  arm.  He  told  Andrew  the 
soldiers  were  fighting  with  cutlasses  and  were  killing  every 
body;  he'd  about  had  his  arm  whipped  off.  He  warned 
Andrew  not  to  venture  down,  but  Andrew  told  him  clubs 
were  better  than  cutlasses,  and  he  had  better  provide  him 
self  too.  Going  on,  at  the  Town-house,  Andrew  saw  the 
Main  Guard  sentry  by  Mr.  Howe's  corner,  swearing  at  a 
pack  of  boys,  who  were  snowballing  and  calling,  "Lobsters, 
lobsters,  who  buys  lobsters!"  A  friend  now  told  him 
the  soldiers  had  been  driven  back  into  Murray's  barracks, 
and  he  saw  people,  streaming  down  from  there,  pass  by 
Jackson's  corner  into  King  Street. 

Wm.  Strong  was  standing  before  the  hearth  at  Mr. 
Marston's  with  several  more.  At  the  cry  of  fire,  they  said, 
"We  will  go  and  see  where."  People  were  running  to  and 
fro.  It  was  said  a  soldier  had  killed  a  boy.  At  this  there 
was  a  cry,  "We  will  go  back  and  get  our  sticks."  When 
Benjamin  Burdick  set  forth,  his  wife,  mindful  of  the  rope- 
walk  squabbles,  called  after  him:  "It  is  not  a  fire;  it  is  an 
affray  in  King  Street.  If  you  are  going,  take  this,"  and 
handed  him  a  Highland  broadsword. 

The  bells  brought  people  to  the  door  all  over  the  town, 
among  the  rest  Hammond  Green,  Ann,  Mary  Rogers,  and 
Eliza  Avery.  They  stood  listening  on  the  Custom-house 
steps,  John  not  having  as  yet  returned.  Then  they  went 
in,  Hammond  turning  the  key  in  the  lock  for  precaution,  re 
marking  that  they  should  hear  anyone  rap.  Thomas  Green 
wood,  in  the  employ  of  the  commissioners,  was  spending 
the  evening  at  the  Wheeler's.  When  the  alarm  was  rung, 
he  helped  the  three  Wheeler  boys  get  their  engine  as  far 
as  the  Old  South  Meeting-house.  Here  they  were  met  by 
people  who  cried:  "Don't  bring  buckets,  but  clubs.  The 
soldiers  are  fighting  the  inhabitants."  Others  in  Esquire 
Gregory  Townsend's  hearing  declared  there  was  a  fire  "at 
the  ropewalks  and  King  Street."  Greenwood  at  once  has 
tened  toward  the  Town-house,  and  down  by  the  north  side, 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  197 

where  he  lingered,  between  the  east  steps  and  whipping 
post  —  in  front,  that  is,  of  the  present  Brazier  Building.  A 
small  mob  was  then  about  the  Main  Guard,  taunting  the 
two  sentinels.  "Come  out  and  fight  us  if  you  dare," 
called  one.  "You  rascals  and  scoundrels,  we  are  enough  for 
you  now,"  shouted  another.  The  last  of  the  roving  grena 
diers  seem  by  this  time  to  have  passed  into  King  Street 
from  Cornhill,  Crooked  Lane  (Devonshire  Street,  north 
of  State),  and  Royal  Exchange  Lane.  There  were  some 
dozen  gentlemen  talking  in  a  group  upon  the  Exchange  under 
the  Town-house.  As  the  redcoats  swarmed  up  toward  the 
Main  Guard,  they  assaulted  several  in  passing.  Samuel 
Drowne,  who  had  followed  them  from  Cornhill,  now  saw 
a  corporal  and  five  regulars  issue  from  the  guard-house 
with  their  firelocks,  and  order  them  to  go  away,  which  the 
roisterers  immediately  did,  some  one  way,  some  another. 
Some  of  them  were  met  by  Joseph  Hooton,  Jr.,  as  he  ran 
toward  the  centre  of  the  town  from  the  South  End.  He 
asked  them  what  was  the  matter,  and  was  vouchsafed 
no  reply  save,  "By — ,  you  shall  all  know  what  is  the 
matter  soon."  Henry  Bass,  returning  to  Winter  Street,  met 
several  friends,  Mr.  Chase  among  the  number,  to  whom  he 
explained  it  was  not  a  fire  but  a  street  row  which  caused 
the  stir.  Mr.  Sylvester's  party  at  the  South  End  was 
quite  broken  up  by  the  fire-bells,  a  Mr.  Fleeming  said  he 
"would  send  and  learn  its  whereabouts.  He  heard  it  was 
a  ruse  to  gather  allies  against  the  soldiers.  Let  none  be 
alarmed."  But  Gillespie  felt  uneasy  and  left,  meeting  many 
with  sticks  and  bags.  At  last  he  saw  the  two  engines  and 
men  everywhere  putting  buckets  and  bags  into  people's 
houses  out  of  the  way.  He  saw  Mr.  Knight  in  his  door 
and  stood  a  moment  or  two,  then  went  on  to  the  head  of 
King  Street.  Here  he  heard  some  in  the  crowd  growl, 
"D —  them,  why  don't  they  break  the  glass,"  meaning,  as 
he  supposed,  in  the  guard-house.  He  then  returned  home 
to  Queen  (Court)  Street.  Thomas  Knight  saw  people  pass 
ing  pretty  thick,  prepared  about  equally  for  coping  with  the 


198     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

supposed  fire  or  redcoats.  Hearing  it  was  a  row,  he  uneasily 
went  inside,  returning  anxiously  to  the  step.  Just  then 
eight  or  ten  went  by  with  white  sticks,  who  cried,  "D— 
their  bloods,  let  us  go  and  attack  the  Main  Guard,  and  knock 
them  to  Hell  first."  One  stopping,  he  thought  he  heard, 
"I  will  go  back  and  get  my  gun."  And  again  Knight  beat 
a  retreat.  The  disturbance  outside  did  not  lessen,  but 
rather  increased.  Shubael  Hewes  was  visiting  near  Town 
Dock  when  told  "fire  is  cried."  Belonging  to  an  engine, 
he  pulled  on  his  surtout,  caught  up  his  stick,  and  was  the 
first  outside,  expecting  to  meet  the  engine  in  the  lane  or 
at  Cornhill.  Rounding  the  market,  he  met  such  a  throng 
coming  from  the  North  End  he  supposed  the  fire  was  already 
out  and  they  returning.  He  lingered  at  Colonel  Jackson's 
corner  and  heard  it  was  just  a  street  quarrel  by  Murray's 
barracks.  While  standing  there,  six  or  seven  youths  from 
the  North  End  and  Hubbard's  warehouse  way  "got  foul" 
of  the  market  stalls  and  helped  themselves  to  the  legs  for 
cudgels.  A  man  with  Hewes  said  to  him,  "We  have  no 
business  with  the  soldiers  and  their  disputes,"  and  they 
went  back  to  the  house.  Matthew  Murray,  understanding 
the  bells  betokened  conflict  in  the  streets,  sought  hastily  for 
a  convenient  weapon,  and  finding  none  cut  off  the  handle 
from  his  mother's  broom.  He  found  no  soldiers  in  King 
Street,  but  people  pouring  in  from  the  north  and  west.  A 
few  cried  impatiently:  "They  are  only  making  fools  of  us. 
It  is  best  to  go  home."  Considerable  uncertainty  pre 
vailed.  People  were  running  up,  standing  about,  or  mov 
ing  slowly  off  with  a  glance  back.  All  but  the  excitable 
boys  hoped  the  worst  was  over.  One  of  the  British  officers, 
Davis,  returning  from  the  North  End,  came,  in  Dock  Square, 
upon  a  number  of  the  latter  tearing  staves  from  the  mar 
ket  stalls,  and  caught  the  shouts,  "Let  us  kill  that  d — 
scoundrel  of  a  sentry  and  attack  the  Main  Guard."  "Let 
us  go  to  Smith's  barracks."  "Let  us  go  to  the  ropewalks." 
At  the  Golden  Ball,  near  the  dock,  he  heard  a  woman 
pleading  with  a  man  to  stay  within,  who  said  he'd  be  amongst 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  199 

them  if  he  died  for  it.  There  was  some  stir  about  the 
Custom-house  as  Davis  crossed  King  Street,  and  by  Oliver's 
Dock  another  crowd.  One  was  loading  his  piece,  others 
by  the  fish  stalls  bore  clubs,  and  as  they  trooped  off  toward 
King  Street  the  Fort  Hillers  shouted  lustily,  "D—  the 
soldiers  and  commissioners!"  "D —  the  villain  that  first 
sent  them  to  Boston.  They  sha'n't  be  here  two  nights 
longer."  On  reaching  his  barracks  he  found  roll  had  been 
called,  and  all  their  men  accounted  for. 

Archibald  Wilson,  James  Selkrig,  and  Wm.  Dixon  were 
with  Mr.  Wm.  Hunter  in  Dock  Square,  and  Archibald 
Bowman  in  the  vendue  room  below,  when,  a  little  after 
dark,  David  Mitchelson  and  a  friend  called  in. 

Mitchelson  had  made  a  call  in  Fore  Street  and,  return 
ing  through  Union,  heard  a  hubbub  by  the  Post-office. 
Hunter  lived  at  the  foot  of  Royal  Exchange  Lane,  and 
Mitchelson  standing  there  had  seen  numbers  rushing  down 
towards  him  as  though  routed.  Mitchelson  remarked  to 
the  company  on  entering,  "You  are  very  quiet  indeed 
with  such  a  stir  in  the  street."  Hunter  answered,  "It  is  an 
alley  that  is  noisy  enough  very  often."  But  as  Mitchelson 
urged,  "You  had  as  good  go  and  see  what  it  is,"  Hunter, 
Dixon,  and  Wilson  went  down  to  the  vendue  room  balcony. 
Wilson  feared  it  would  fall  with  their  weight.  The 
others  saw  as  they  could  from  the  front  window.  At  this 
time  numbers  were  coming  with  white  staves  from  the 
North  End,  in  bunches,  possibly  two  hundred,  all  told,  in 
sight.  Some  took  Exchange  Lane  into  King  Street,  others 
turned  into  Main  Street,  some,  by  one  lane  or  the  other, 
headed  toward  the  barracks,  called  indifferently  Murray's  or 
Smith's.  Five  or  six  attempts  were  made  on  the  barracks, 
as  they  watched,  by  each  arriving  group.  They  always 
seemed  to  fall  back  hastily,  as  though  chased  or  opposed. 
They  then  came  into  little  clusters  about  the  Pump,  and 
buzzed  'round  their  several  leaders.  Some  cried  "fire," 
others  whistled  with  their  fingers.  More  continually 
arrived  from  the  North  End,  and  a  large  body  massed 


200    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

opposite  Hunter.  A  pretty  tall,  large  gentleman,  in  a  red 
cloak  and  white  wig,  was  now  seen  in  the  middle  of  the 
crowd,  which  pressed  up  and  gave  three  cheers.  "For 
the  Main  Guard!"  was  shouted,  and  Selkrig  thought  he 
heard  also,  "Huzza,  for  the  Neck." 

Turning  the  corner  by  Simpson's  stone  shop,  they  beat 
the  wall,  saying  they  would  "do  for  the  soldiers."  Some 
went  up  Exchange,  some  by  Jenkin's  Alley,  some  by  the 
Post-office.  By  far  the  largest  part  sought  Cornhill.  A 
few  still  came  in  from  Union  Street.  Mitchelson  caught  up 
his  hat,  and  the  whole  company  hurried  into  King  Street 
to  see  what  would  follow. 

John  Danbrook,  James  Bailey,  and  Jedediah  Bass  saw 
the  crowd  at  this  point,  and  while  noticing  some  in  sur- 
touts,  considered  the  most  part  wore  sailor's  clothes.  James 
Bailey  then  passed  into  King  Street  and  found  the  sentry 
being  pelted  with  chunks  of  broken  ice.  White  was  known 
to  him,  and  they  had  a  few  minutes'  talk,  during  which  space 
nothing  further  was  thrown. 

Mr.  Edward  Payne  was  playing  whist  at  Mr.  Amory's 
when  the  alarm  rang,  9.20  by  the  clock,  and  started  to  the 
door,  cards  in  hand.1  Mr.  Taylor  stopped  in  shortly  after  to 
say  it  was  not  fire,  there  was  a  rumor  about  that  the  soldiers 
proposed  to  cut  down  the  Liberty  Tree.  Payne  then  went 
home  and  told  his  wife  it  was  no  fire,  to  set  her  mind  at 
ease.  John  Coburn,  hearing  fire  called,  ran  out  with  his 
bags  and  buckets.  At  Mr.  Payne's  door,  learning  his  mis 
take,  he  sent  his  buckets  home.  The  two  gentlemen  then 
went  to  Mr.  Amory's  corner.  A  ship-builder,  named 
Walker,  spoke  to  them  there,  saying:  "The  soldiers  are 
making  a  tumult  in  Cornhill  and  Dock  Square.  The  inhab 
itants  need  help.  Pray,  gentlemen,  run."  Hearing  this, 
Coburn  went  home.  Mr.  Payne  also  returned,  taking  with 
him  the  story  of  Garrick's  woes.  For  that  young  imp  was 
back  in  King  Street,  enjoying  to  the  full  the  tumult  he  had 

1  Life  of  Admiral  Sir  Isaac  Coffin,  Baronet.  Thomas  C.  Amory.  Boston, 
1886:  Cupples,  Upham  and  Company. 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  201 

occasioned.  His  fellow-apprentice  was  telling  people  as 
they  came  up  what  the  sentinel  had  done  to  a  boy  belong 
ing  to  their  shop.  This  drew  all  eyes  on  Hugh  White,  who 
lowered  back  at  the  unfriendly  faces. 

Ben  Lewis,  who  had  just  come  from  Dock  Square,  found 
the  lanes  thick  as  they  could  hold  between  it  and  King 
Street.  Feeling  this  the  crowning  moment,  Garrick  pushed 
forward  and  said,  "There  is  a  son  of  a  [gun]  that  knocked  me 
down!"  "Kill  him,"  cried  the  mob.  "Knock  him  down." 
Robert  Polley,  whose  deposition  bears  no  signature  but  his 
mark,  saw  two  or  three  snowballs  strike  the  side  of  the 
Custom-house  near  White,  who  with  his  bayonet  charged 
breast-high  kept  the  boys  from  him  by  frequent  pushes. 
Mr.  Edward  Payne  started  back  toward  his  house,  on  the 
way  meeting  David  Spear,  the  cooper,  who  said,  "Do  not 
go  away,  I  am  afraid  the  Main  Guard  will  come  down." 
Mr.  Payne  answered,  "I  am  more  afraid  of  those  people 
round  the  sentry,"  and  desired  him  to  use  what  influence 
he  had  to  get  them  away.  Harrison  Gjay,  Jr.,  went  up 
to  the  crowd  and  said,  "The  sentinel  is  on  duty;  it  is  his 
post,  and  he  has  a  right  to  walk  there,"  and  urged  them  to 
leave,  as  the  consequences  would  be  fatal  if  they  did  not. 
This  was  met  by  a  surly:  "D —  him,  let  him  fire.  He  can 
fire  but  one  gun."  Mr.  Gray  reminded  them,  "He  could 
have  enough  to  relieve  him  if  he  needed  it,  he  stood  so  near 
the  Main  Guard."  With  that  Gray  joined  Mr.  Payne  in 
his  doorway,  where  George  Bethune  and  John  Coburn  were 
likewise  standing. 

Edward  Langford,  town  watch,  had  his  club  and  ran 
importantly  with  the  rest  at  the  sound  of  the  fire-bell.  He 
heard  soldiers  from  Murray's  barracks  had  been  out,  but 
were  in  again.  Quite  in  the  manner  of  these  days  he 
bustled  up  and  satisfied  himself  all  was  over.  Just  as  he 
returned  to  King  Street  five-and-twenty  boys  turned  in. 
They  crowded  "over  the  gutter,"  the  barber's  lad  com 
plaining  loudly  that  the  sentry  had  struck  him  with  the 
butt  of  his  gun.  The  boys  pressed  closer,  swearing,  while 


202    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

the  watch  encouraged  the  sentry,  "Don't  you  be  afraid; 
they  are  only  boys."  James  Brewer  spoke  to  the  same  pur 
pose.  There  were  now  perhaps  some  sixty  in  the  street. 
Benjamin  Davis,  whom  we  left  in  Mrs.  Elliot's  yard, 
stayed  there  until  the  Brick  Meeting-house  bell  had  done 
ringing  and  the  last  grenadier  had  run  through  Jenkin's 
Alley,  which  led  by  the  house,  into  King  Street.  Then, 
leaving  the  cloak  in  Mrs.  Elliot's  charge,  Davis  took  the 
same  alley.  Reaching  King  Street,  he  saw  some  with  buckets 
and  the  deserted  engine.  Going  up  the  north  side,  he  saw 
little  knots  of  men  all  about,  and  went  from  group  to  group  to 
learn  what  was  the  matter.  Greenwood,  pushing  on  down 
through  the  crowd,  claimed  that  he  heard  two  or  three  say, 
"I  wish  I  could  get  into  the  Custom-house;  I  would  make 
the  money  circulate  among  us."  It  may  have  been  true; 
the  Hutchinson  riot  witnessed  what  lawlessness  was  latent 
in  a  mob.  At  all  events,  Greenwood  was  alarmed  and  hur 
ried  to  the  Custom-house  door.  Two  or  three  snowballs 
'lighted  on  the  flat  stones  while  he  stood  impressing  on  the 
sentry  to  let  no  one  pass  and  force  an  entry.  Greenwood 
then  rapped,  and  answered  Green's  inquiry,  "'Tis  Thomas. 
Let  me  in,  Hammond."  His  coming  had  not  been  unnoted. 
Francis  Read,  G.  R.  T.  Hewes,  and  John  Wilson  had  seen 
a  man  of  middling  stature,  in  a  light  gray  surtout,  with 
short  curled  hair  clubbed  behind,  come  on  down  from  the 
Main  Guard  and,  as  rapidly  as  he  could,  work  'round  back 
of  the  sentinel,  run  out  from  the  crowd,  and  rest  his  hand 
on  White's  shoulder  while  he  spoke.  Dimond  Morton 
recognized  the  newcomer  as  a  waiter  to  the  Commissioners. 
Broaders  had  noticed  a  gentleman,  doubtless  Harrison 
Gray,  with  a  walking-stick,  address  the  sentry.  Immedi 
ately  after  this,  in  a  rage  at  being  pelted,  Wliite  stepped 
back  on  the  doorstone  behind  him,  waving  his  bayonet 
breast-high  all  the  way.  He  had  just  drawn  a  cartridge 
as  if  to  load,  when  Greenwood  appeared.  A  hum  went 
through  the  crowd,  "He  is  going  to  fire!"  Broaders, 
hearing  this,  slipped  round  through  Exchange  Lane  to  Dock 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  203 

Square  and  told  the  dispersing  crowd  the  sentinel  might 
fire  in  King  Street.  All  moved  that  way.  John  Gridley, 
who  had  been  spending  the  evening  with  friends  at  the 
Bunch  of  Grapes,  which  stood,  two  and  a  half  stories  high, 
on  the  corner  of  King  Street  and  Mackerel  Lane  (Kilby 
Street)  with  its  gable-end  on  King,  a  stable-yard  and  hog 
pens  behind,  running  back  to  the  water,  saw  the  lads  in 
the  fore  part  of  the  group  and  men  at  the  back,  gathered 
before  the  Custom-house.  Up  at  the  Main  Guard  all  was 
in  confusion.  There  were  reports  of  slashings  from  the 
soldiers'  cutlasses,  and  murmurs  of  "D —  the  rascals." 
"This  will  never  do.  The  readiest  way  to  get  rid  of  these 
people  is  to  attack  the  Main  Guard."  "Strike  at  the  root, 
there  is  the  nest."  "A  man  has  been  stabbed  through  the 
arm.  It  is  very  hard  when  people  cannot  pass  along  with 
out  injury."  "We  had  better  go  and  see  it  out.  It  is 
the  best  time  now  and  the  only  time."  The  outlook  was 
decidedly  squally. 

When  the  door  closed  on  Greenwood,  Hammond  told 
him  he  could  see  better  by  going  upstairs,  but  to  take  no 
candle  or  light.  Young  Green  went  about,  locking  windows, 
the  doors,  and  the  gate,  while  Greenwood,  stepping  into  the 
back  room,  got  the  key  of  the  little  drawing-room,  the  lower 
west  chamber.  Ann  Green,  Mary  Rogers,  and  Eliza  Avery 
followed  him  up,  and  all  four  looked  through  the  panes. 
Some  lads  were  beating  the  sides  of  the  sentry-box.  Natu 
rally  timid,  Greenwood  became  frightened  and  soon  went 
down.  Hammond,  from  the  middle  room,  called,  "What 
is  it?"  Thomas  supposed  the  house  in  danger,  but  Ham 
mond  said,  "No  fears!"  Telling  him  he  should  go  out, 
Greenwood  took  his  hat,  went  in  the  yard,  and  by  aid  of 
the  woodpile  climbed  on  the  fence.  Some  in  the  street 
called  to  him,  "Heave  over  some  shillelahs!"  Seriously 
alarmed  or  angered,  the  sentinel  went  impetuously  to  the 
door  and  gave  its  large  brass  knocker  three  very  heavy 
claps.  The  door  opened  three-quarters.  He  spoke  hur 
riedly  to  one  in  a  light  surtout,  hair  tied,  hanging  loose, 


204     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

whose  shoulder  rested  against  the  side,  and  then  it  was 
shut  to.  Hesitating  no  longer,  White  stamped  his  gun 
heavily,  as  if  to  force  down  the  lead,  the  breech  was  grounded 
twice  on  the  stone  steps,  the  ramming  was  distinctly  heard. 
Then  he  primed  and  shouldered  his  firelock,  saying  if  they 
came  nearer  he'd  blow  their  brains  out,  and  returned  to 
the  west  corner  of  his  box;  but  he  was  forced  by  the  boys  to 
resume  quickly  his  place  on  the  doorstep.  Mr.  Benjamin 
Davis,  after  wandering  about,  had  planted  himself  by  Mr. 
Price's  office.  The  street  was  all  lit  up  by  the  brilliant  moon, 
and  he  could  see  the  sentry  backed  against  the  door  and  the 
boys'  laughing  faces  as  they  cried,  "Why  don't  you  fire?" 
When  White  made  a  feint  they  would  fall  back,  and  he  would 
again  shoulder  his  musket.  To  the  youngsters  it  was 
still  a  teasing  play,  but  the  men  who  looked  on  felt  the 
game  a  dangerous  one,  which  should  be  stopped  lest  harm 
come  of  it. 

In  the  crowd  were  three  men,  Thomas  Cain,  Wm.  Tant, 
and  Samuel  Condon,  who  had  run  up  from  Long  Wharf 
under  an  impression  the  rope  walk  quarrel  had  been  renewed. 
When  it  was  discovered  there  was  no  fire,  they  waited  about 
to  see  what  would  happen.  Somewhere  among  the  rest 
stood  Patrick  Carr,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  lodged  at 
Mrs.  Catherine  Field's,  being  employed1  by  her  husband, 
a  Queen  Street  leather-breeches  maker.  He  had  run  up 
stairs  and  slipped  on  his  surtout,  putting  a  hanger  betwixt 
it  and  his  coat  at  the  first  alarm.  When  he  came  down 
Mr.  Field  gave  him  a  push,  felt  the  sword,  and  wanted  him 
to  leave  it.  John  Mansfield,  who  was  present,  tried  to 
keep  him  within  doors.  Carr  was  loath  to  go  without  his 
sword,  but  had  it  coaxed  from  him  by  a  woman  living  next 
door,  and  started,  following  the  crowd  so  far  as  the  Stocks. 
Boys  and  negroes  were  throwing  snowballs  when  he  reached 
the  sentry,  huzzaing  every  time  they  struck  hard.  Samuel 
Maverick  had  supped  that  evening  at  Jonathan  Cary's 
with  some  other  lads,  where  he  still  lingered  when  the  bells 

1  War  in  America,  I,  224.     Murray. 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  205 

took  all  outside.  Robert  Patterson,  a  seafaring  man,  who 
makes  his  mark,  was  drawn  by  the  same  alarm  from  Cap 
tain  McNeil's  at  the  North  End.  Carr,  Patterson,  and 
young  Maverick,  all  three,  will  be  met  with  again. 

Henry  Knox,  the  Cornhill  bookseller  and  subsequent 
general,  a  young  man  of  twenty-five,  came  on  a  crowd  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  in  Dock  Square. 
Inquiring  what  was  the  matter,  he  was  told  the  soldiers 
had  been  cutting  "fore  and  aft,"  and  then  retreated  to 
their  barracks.  Entering  King  Street,  he  found  another 
crowd  watching  fifteen  or  twenty  lads  whose  ages  ran  from 
seventeen  to  eighteen  years.  The  sentry  held  his  gun 
well  up  and  dodged  it  about  in  self-defence.  He  was  fast 
losing  his  nerve.  It  could  scarcely  be  otherwise.  Finally 
he  snapped  his  piece.  Knox  cried  to  him,  "If  you  fire, 
you  must  die  for  it."  White  replied:  "I  don't  care,  d— 
them.  If  they  touch  me  I  shall  fire." 

An  eighteen-year-old  lad  named  Usher  said,  "D —  him, 
we  will  knock  him  down  for  snapping.''  Knox  tried  to 
keep  the  boys  back,  striking  or  pushing  one  forcibly  away. 
Then  he  warned  the  rest  to  take  care,  the  sentinel  meant 
to  fire.  They  cheered  and  gathered  about  ten  feet  dis 
tant.  The  sentinel  still  stood  on  the  steps.  Some  scat 
tered  pieces  of  sea-coal  and  oyster  shells  were  thrown,  and 
the  taunts  redoubled.  Setting  himself  against  the  door, 
he  levelled  his  gun  at  the  hip  and  continued  to  order  them 
back.  "Do  fire  if  you  dare,"  mocked  some.  "D —  you, 
why  don't  you  fire?"  as  he  continued  motionless  and  watch 
ful.  A  man  near  Wm.  Strong  would  have  hurled  the  butt 
end  of  a  bat  at  the  sentinel  had  not  Strong  dissuaded  him, 
since  he  would  surely  fire  on  the  place  it  came  from. 

Fearing  the  worst,  John  Green  said  to  Broaders  by  the 
Brazen  Head,  "The  sentry  is  going  to  fire,"  and  immedi 
ately  tried  to  get  inside  the  Custom-house.  Finding  the 
gate  locked,  he  called  to  Greenwood,  who  refused  to  open 
it  at  such  a  moment,  adding  he  should  do  the  same  by  his 
own  father.  Greenwood  then  leaped  down  into  Exchange 


206    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Lane,  saying,  "Follow  me,"  and  the  two  made  a  circuit 
'round  by  the  Post-office  to  the  Main  Guard.  About  the 
same  time  Strong  shifted  his  stand  to  Mr.  Sherwin's  door, 
first,  from  curiosity,  trying  the  latch  of  the  Custom-house 
door  to  see  if  they  were  prudent  enough  to  have  it  secured, 
and  finding  it  fast.  Mr.  Payne  and  Harrison  Gray  were 
commenting  on  the  mob's  folly  when  an  outcry  rose,  "The 
sentry  is  disarmed."  Two  or  three  boys  flew  up  where 
Andrew  the  negro  was  standing,  with  a  gleeful  shout,  "We 
have  got  his  gun  away,  now  we  will  have  him."  The  call 
of  "Come  away,"  which  had  been  started  by  Dr.  Young, 
James  Brewer,  and  others,  fell  unheeded,  and  the  crowd  of 
sixty  or  so  then  gathered,  quickly  thickened,  until  some  two 
hundred  were  in  the  street.  Wm.  Strong  had  been  on  the 
point  of  leaving  with  the  rest  when  he  heard  a  huzza  and 
rush  of  feet  behind  him.  Standing  to  one  side,  he  supposed 
as  many  as  ninety  men  and  boys  now  ran  past  him  from 
Royal  Exchange  Lane  and  stopped  before  the  Custom 
house.  Spying  the  sentry,  they  huzzaed,  "Here  is  a  soldier." 
Said  one,  "This  is  the  fellow  that  used  the  inhabitants 
ill."  Another  cried,  "Not  him."  All  scruples  were  soon 
removed  by  what  they  heard,  and  they  were  as  forward 
as  even  Garrick  could  wish. 

The  cries  now  became  more  menacing.  Daniel  Cornwall, 
who  had  arrived  breathless  from  Milk  Street,  at  first  heard, 
"A  rascally  soldier  struck  one  of  the  inhabitants  with  a  cut 
lass."  "Where  is  the  d — d  villain  gone?"  he  questioned 
eagerly,  but  received  no  reply  in  the  bustle.  Then  the  bell 
stopped  its  clanging  and  Cornwall  was  borne  with  the 
crowd  down  before  the  Custom-house,  where  he  heard  a 
hullabaloo.  "Burn  the  sentry-box!"  "Heave  it  over 
board!"  The  sentry  meanwhile  had  hallooed  for  the  guard. 

It  seems,  soon  after  the  bells  started  ringing,  John  Gam- 
mell  saw  about  fifteen  or  sixteen  issue  from  the  Main  Guard. 
After  priming  and  loading,  a  file  of  six  marched  off,  as  he 
understood  to  fetch  Captain  Preston  from  Williams  Court; 
but  more  probably  his  lieutenant,  James  Bassett,  since 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  207 

Preston,  we  find,  was  spending  the  evening  at 1  Concert 
Hall,  on  the  south  corner  of  Hanover  Street.  For  several 
days  the  soldiers  had  been  expecting  an  organized  attack, 
and  about  nine  o'clock  some  of  the  guard  ran  in  and  told 
Preston  they  took  the  bells  to  be  a  signal  for  rousing  the 
countryside.  As  captain  of  the  day,2  he  immediately 
left  the  tavern  and  hurried  to  the  guard-house,  on  the  way 
hearing  "horrid  threats."  Thomas  Wilkinson  noticed  the 
captain  as  he  came  up,  seemingly  from  behind  the  Brick 
Meeting-house,  and  heard  him  cry,  "Turn  out,  d —  your 
bloods,  turn  out!"  About  one  hundred  surged  down  King 
Street  a  moment  after,  followed  by  a  "prodigious  hubbub" 
from  below.  The  men,  meanwhile,  had  drawn  up  in  two 
files.  As  they  stood  waiting,  a  townsman  brought  word 
that  the  sentry  was  close  pressed,  and  was  sent  back  to 
keep  watch.  A  moment  later  he  returned  with  word  that 
White  was  in  peril. 

John  Bulkely,  standing  by  Mr.  Quincy's  office  and  not 
knowing  Captain  Preston  was  officer  of  -the  day,  observed 
he  was  in  a  "great  flutter  of  spirits."  One  of  the  crowd 
in  William  Whittington's  hearing  called  out  to  the  soldiers 
about  the  guard-house  door,  "Will  you  stand  there  and  see 
your  sentinel  murdered  at  the  Custom-house?"  Lieutenant 
James  Bassett  and  Captain  Preston  were  together.  "What 
shall  I  do  in  this  case?"  appealed  Bassett.  "Take  out 
six  or  seven  of  the  men  and  let  them  go  down  to  the  sen 
try's  aid,"  was  the  reply.  There  were  a  number  standing 
about  listening;  the  officer  of  the  guard  was  very  young, 
and  Bulkely  "pitied  his  situation."  Benjamin  Davis, 
standing  at  Mr.  Price's  office,  saw  two  men  without  hats 
go  to  the  Main  Guard  and  say,  "You  must  send  assistance 
directly."  One  is  inclined  to  suppose  these  men  to  have 
been  Thomas  Greenwood  and  John  Green,  but  the  latter 
takes  pains  to  disclaim  all  responsibility,  alleging  they 
arrived  too  late  to  deliver  their  message.  However  this 

1  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Ill,  361.     Bryant  and  Gay. 

2  War  in  America,  I,  230.     Murray. 


208    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

may  be,  Captain  Preston  dallied  no  longer,  but  spoke  up 
roughly,  "D —  you,  why  do  you  not  turn  out?"  and  about 
seven  from  the  right-hand  file,  having  left  their  watch-coats 
inside,  hurried  out  again,  their  muskets  not  shouldered 
but  grasped  in  their  right  hands.  The  corporal  led  off  in 
front.  Captain  Preston,  saying  to  Bassett  that  he  would 
go  and  "see  no  mischief  was  done,"  drew  his  sword  and 
brought  up  the  rear,  his  scarlet  coat  and  laced  hat  being 
remarked  by  several.  As  they  set  forth,  Ebenezer  Hinck- 
ley  heard  one  whom  he  supposed  an  officer  call  to  them  from 
the  chamber  window  of  the  guard-house,  "Fire  upon  them, 
d—  them,  fire  upon  them."  Greenwood  heard  others, 
whom  he  took  to  be  regulars,  cry,  "D —  them,  kill  them  all; 
they  have  no  business  to  be  there." 

Andrew,  who  had  raced  up  to  the  guard-house  to  see  if 
they  meant  to  turn  out,  now  followed  on  beside  them  in  the 
shadow  of  the  buildings  as  far  as  Mr.  Peck's  corner,  when 
he  was  diverted  by  a  cheer,  "Huzza,  here  is  Old  Murray 
with  the  riot  act."  Snowballs  flew  fast  and  a  man  was 
seen  to  run,  whom  Andrew  followed  up  as  far  as  Phillips' 
corner.  This  may  have  been  James  Murray,  as  he  seems 
to  have  been  in  town  that  night  and l  bore  a  commission  as 
justice  of  the  peace.  Although  Andrew  remained  behind, 
the  chief  part  of  the  crowd  closed  in  after  the  soldiers  and 
kept  steadily  on  with  them.  Wilkinson  supposed  they 
meant  simply  to  relieve  guard,  and  stopped  at  Waldo's 
shop.  The  nearer  the  redcoats  came  to  the  Custom-house 
the  harder  it  was  to  make  headway,  and  more  than  once 
snowballs  were  thrown.  John  Wilson  drew  back  opposite 
Mr.  Stone's  and  heard  the  officer  cry,  "D —  you,  make 
way,  you  boogers."  This  made  him  disinclined  to  give 
room,  and  accordingly,  he  received  a  blow  in  the  hip  with 
the  butt  of  a  musket,  which  left  quite  a  bruise.  "Why 
don't  you  prick  the  boogers,"  suggested  Preston,  and  Oba- 
diah  Whiston  and  several  more  felt  a  nip  as  the  soldiers 
crowded  by.  As  they  went  on  down,  they  shouted  contin- 

1  James  Murray,  170.     Ed.  Tiffany. 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED  209 

ually,  "Make  way,  clear  the  way/'  and  swung  their  guns. 
Nathaniel  Fosdick  had  run  north  to  discover  the  fire,  and 
paid  but  little  heed  to  the  soldiers,  fixing  their  bayonets, 
as  he  turned  down  King  Street  after  the  other  running 
groups.  He  began  at  last  to  wonder  where  the  fire  could 
be,  and  stopped  to  get  his  breath  and  look  'round.  As  he 
stopped  he  was  pushed  behind,  and  turning  saw  soldiers 
with  their  bayonets  charged,  two  of  which  pressed  against 
him.  Fosdick  asked  if  this  was  the  fire  he  had  heard  cried, 
to  which  they  made  no  reply.  Beginning  to  be  angry, 
Fosdick  asked  what  they  meant  by  crowding  on  him  in  that 
fashion.  Their  answer  was  simply,  "D —  you,  stand  out 
of  our  way."  Fosdick  indignantly  retorted  he  would  not 
move  for  any  man  under  the  heavens,  and  the  ranks  parted, 
some  passing  on  his  right,  some  on  his  left. 

Driving  people  roughly  from  their  path,  abreast  of  the 
Custom-house,  they  wheeled  to  the  left  and  came  about. 
As  they  did  so  Jonathan  Williams  Austin,  being  inside  the 
gutter  and  close  to  the  sentry-box  which  stood  three  or 
four  feet  from  the  corner  of  the  Custom-house,  was  threat 
ened  by  William  McCauley,  one  of  the  soldiers  stationed 
nearest  to  the  sentry-box,  who  said,  "D —  you,  stand  off." 
They  then  lined  up  in  loose  formation  from  the  corner  of 
Royal  Exchange  Lane  to  the  sentry-box,  between  the  lane 
and  the  Custom-house  door.  The  sentry,  with  some  relief, 
we  may  well  suppose,  fell  into  the  ranks  with  them. 

When  John  Coburn  saw  Captain  Preston  approach, 
swinging  his  naked  cutlass,  the  men  struggling  forward 
with  muskets  held  breast-high,  he  thought  it  imprudent 
to  remain,  but  went  immediately  to  his  own  house  and 
called  all  his  family  in. 

Not  long  before,  Benjamin  Davis,  Jr.,  had  stood  by 
the  garden  gate  in  Green's  Lane  and  seen  young  Sam  Gray 
coming  toward  him  with  a  stick  tucked  under  his  arm,  who 
called  to  him,  "Where's  the  fire?"  Davis  explained  it 
was  a  scrimmage  and  not  a  fire.  Gray  answered  lightly: 
"D —  it,  I  am  glad.  I  will  knock  some  of  them  on  the 


210    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

head."  "Take  heed  you  do  not  get  killed  in  the  affray 
yourself,"  Davis  called  after  the  lad.  "Do  not  you  fear, 
d —  their  bloods,"  he  answered,  and  sped  on.  Ferreter 
met  Gray  hastening  along  in  Quaker  Lane,  and  at  about 
the  same  moment  as  Captain  Preston  drew  up,  he  joined 
the  crowd  before  the  Custom-house.  On  first  arriving, 
Gray  clapped  the  watch  on  the  shoulder,  asking,  "Langford, 
what's  here  to  pay?"  The  watch  did  not  know,  but  said 
he  believed  something  would  come  of  it  by  and  by.  Boy- 
like,  Gray  suspected  no  danger,  and  clapped  Joseph  Hinkley 
on  the  shoulder,  saying,  "Do  not  run,  my  lad;  they  dare 
not  fire,"  and  urged  this  to  others. 

James  Bailey  was  between  the  corner  of  the  Custom 
house  and  the  post,  his  arm  atop  of  the  post,  when  the 
soldiers  halted.  One  of  them,  John  Carrol,  clapped  his  bay 
onet  to  his  breast,  but  the  sentry,  who  was  a  friend,  made 
haste  to  say,  "Do  not  hurt  him."  As  he  spoke,  the  end 
soldier  on  their  right  wing,  Hugh  Montgomery,  close  to 
Bailey,  put  out  his  hand  and  shoved  him  right  behind  him, 
where  he  was  out  of  harm's  way.  James  Brewer,  standing 
by  the  gutter,  happened  to  be  too  near  as  the  soldiers 
wheeled,  whereupon  Matthew  Killroy,  one  of  the  guard, 
struck  him  with  his  bayonet  to  make  room  for  them  to 
form;  one  man  so  pricked,  growled,  "D —  you,  why  do  you 
turn  your  bayonet  this  way?  Turn  it  the  other  way."  The 
boys  cheered  when  the  soldiers  partly  formed,  three  facing 
upstreet  westward,  three  fronting  the  street  southward.  All 
the  while  they  struck  and  pushed  with  their  bayonets 
until  they  had  turned  the  people  from  the  door,  and  made 
them  fall  back  into  the  middle  of  the  street.  Andrew  saw 
the  crowd  sway  to  and  fro,  and  was  listening  to  the  words 
in  front,  "You  d — d  lobster,  bloody  back,  are  you  going 
to  stab  me!"  "By  — ,  I  will,"  when  he  felt  a  hand  on 
his  shoulder  and  was  advised  to  go  home  lest  he  should  be 
hurt. 

Captain  Preston,  standing  a  little  behind  the  men,  then 
commanded,  "Shoulder  your  arms,  handle  your  arms, 


SOLDIERY  PROVOKED 

ease  your  arms,  support  your  arms,  ease  your  arms,  prime 
and  load."  Josiah  Simpson  was  as  sure  he  heard  all  this 
as  he  was  of  his  own  existence.  Being  on  the  edge  of  the 
gutter,  Simpson,  much  agitated,  pressed  between  two  of  the 
regulars  and  cried  to  Captain  Preston,  "For  God's  sake, 
don't  fire  upon  the  inhabitants."  Receiving  no  reply,  he 
turned  to  the  people,  "Do  not  trouble  these  men,  for  they 
are  on  duty."  The  towners  answered  doggedly,  "We  will 
neither  trouble  them  nor  be  drove  off  by  them." 


CHAPTER  VII 

BOSTON   MASSACRE 

AFTER  the  soldiers  had  gained  a  little  cleared  space, 
they  took  things  more  easily,  talked  quietly  among 
themselves,  and  not  only  did  not  object,  but  made  room 
for  John  Gridley  to  walk  peaceably  through  their  ranks 
while  they  loaded.  Joseph  Hiller  also  passed  by  them  and 
joined  a  group  by  Exchange  Lane,  which  did  not  extend 
quite  so  high  as  Stone's  Tavern. 

Up  by  the  Town-house  there  was  now  a  general  move 
and  call,  "Come  away,  let  the  guard  alone;  you  have 
nothing  at  all  to  do  with  them."  Gridley  after  this  strolled 
back  to  the  Bunch  o'  Grapes  and  explained  to  his  comrades 
the  trouble  was  about  disturbing  the  sentry  at  his  post. 
Mr.  Davis  and  the  rest  on  the  steps  said,  "They  are  just 
a  parcel  of  boys."  "Yes,  Mother  Tapley's  boys,  boys  of 
about  my  age,"  he  answered.  He  noticed  snow  thrown, 
on  the  skirts  of  the  crowd,  both  from  the  middle  of  the  street 
and  from  Quaker  Lane.  As  for  the  lads'  taunts,  they  could 
be  heard  at  Long  Wharf.  Noticing  a  bickering  had 
begun  between  the  soldiers  and  the  crowd,  who  were  only 
some  ten  feet  apart,  Simpson  crossed  the  street,  where  he 
succeeded  in  restraining  a  man  from  hurling  a  club,  as  it 
would  surely  draw  fire. 

Nathaniel  Fosdick,  meanwhile,  had  almost  made  his 
way  to  the  front.  He  was  intent  on  keeping  the  peace 
and  spoke  out,  desiring  there  might  be  no  disturbance,  for 
if  the  soldiers  were  in  fault,  their  officer  was  present, 
whom  he  took  to  be  officer  of  the  day,  and  capable  of 
settling  the  affair  in  one  minute.  He  then  asked  two,  who 
were  nearer,  to  speak  to  Captain  Preston.  Two  or  three 

212 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  213 

sprang  forward.  Andrew  saw  them  talking  and  others 
jumping  on  the  backs  of  the  foremost  to  overhear  and  see 
better.  Fosdick  warned  the  crowd  to  keep  back  and  let 
those  that  went  to  the  officer  settle  the  dispute. 

Henry  Knox,  plucking  Captain  Preston  by  the  coat, 
told  him  for  G —  sake  to  take  his  men  back  again,  for  if 
they  fired,  his  life  must  answer  the  consequences.  He 
replied  he  knew  what  he  was  about,  and  seemed  hurried  and 
troubled.  James  Brewer,  likewise,  addressed  him,  "Sir,  I 
hope  you  are  not  going  to  fire,  for  everybody  is  going  to  their 
homes."  "I  hope  they  are,"  answered  the  captain,  we 
may  well  believe,  sincerely. 

Fosdick  had  been  unable  to  catch  any  of  the  talk,  and 
now  turned,  to  see  the  captain  passing  to  the  back  of  the 
circle,  between  the  fourth  and  fifth  men.  Preston  had 
stepped  back,  because  he  saw  when  his  eyes  were  off  them 
his  men  did  not  hesitate  to  strike  out  at  any  within  reach, 
and  even  at  the  backs  of  those  who  had  offered  no  provo 
cation.  Peter  Cunningham  saw  the  captain  put  his  arm 
under  three  or  four  pieces  and  knock  them  up,  but  so  soon 
as  he  was  called  aside  the  soldiers  had  them  levelled  again. 

William  Wyat  of  Salem  ran  up  from  his  coasting  vessel, 
which  lay  at  Treat's  Wharf.  He  heard  a  gentleman  say 
to  the  captain,  "For  God's  sake  keep  your  men  in  order 
and  mind  what  you  are  about."  He  also  remarked  the 
despatch  with  which  the  men  loaded.  At  his  first  coming, 
Captain  Preston  said  to  the  lads  in  the  forefront  of  the 
crowd,  "Boys,  go  off,  lest  there  be  some  murder  done." 
The  boys  fell  back  and  snowballed.  The  soldiers  at  this 
swore,  saying,  "D —  you,  stand  back";  at  which  the  boys 
laughed  and  came  nearer.  Captain  Preston  many  times 
entreated  the  people  to  disperse,  and  was  greeted  with  the 
mocking  challenge,  "Fire,  fire;  you  dare  not  fire."  Ben 
Frizel,  the  sailor,  heard  the  fire-bell  at  Wheeler's  Point  and 
ran  his  best  to  the  heart  of  the  town  to  learn  further.  On 
the  west  side  of  the  Town-house  he  saw  the  two  deserted 
engines  and  started  to  follow  the  crowd  gradually  flocking 


214     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

into  King  Street.  The  two  sentinels  at  the  Main  Guard, 
alarmed  perhaps  at  the  numbers  that  were  rallying,  forbade 
more  to  pass  down  at  their  peril.  One,  bolder  than  the 
others,  shouldered  his  stick  with  the  words,  "All  the  inhab 
itants  have  a  good  right  to  pass  through  any  street  or  lane 
of  the  town.  I  shall  pass."  The  sailor  and  a  host  more 
went  on  at  his  heels. 

Each  moment  the  din  increased.  Borne  forward  by 
the  newcomers,  the  front  row  had  been  pressed  within  bay 
onet  reach  of  the  armed  grenadiers.  Nat  Russell  judged 
it  so  near  a  hat  could  not  be  slipped  between.  The  cries 
were  multiplied.  "Fire,  fire,  d —  you,  fire!"  "Fire,  you 
lobsters.  You  dare  not  fire!"  said  as  they  rattled  and 
played  their  sticks  at  fence  with  the  bayonets.  The  blows 
clattering  on  the  guns  were  heard  by  many. 

People  near  Eben  Bridgham  bade  two  of  the  soldiers 
to  lay  aside  their  guns  and  they  were  their  men:  cowardly 
rascals  they  were,  to  bring  arms  against  naked  men.  He 
also  saw  a  party  of  twelve  pass  the  soldiers  lengthwise  in 
the  direction  of  Exchange  Lane,  cheering  and  striking  at 
their  guns  as  they  left.  Benjamin  Burdick,  Jr.,  now  pressed 
up  and  asked  the  fourth  soldier,  who  was  bald,  and  in  about 
the  middle  of  the  half  circle  standing  in  the  gutter,  if  they 
were  loaded.  To  which  he  received  a  short,  "Yes."  His 
glance  then  swept  the  group.  "Do  you  intend  to  fire?" 
"Yes,  by  the  Eternal  God,"  answered  the  same  grenadier, 
pushing  at  him  with  his  bayonet,  which  Burdick  warded 
off  with  his  Highland  broadsword.  Another  soldier,  fourth 
or  fifth  from  Exchange  Lane,  pushed  too,  and  Burdick 
clashed  the  second  gun  WTth  some  force  about  the  lock. 

It  is  difficult  to  remember,  in  the  fulness  of  detail, 
with  what  rapidity  all  took  place.  At  this  time  Richard 
Palmes  had  but  just  come  along  from  Murray's  barracks. 
Pool  Spear  told  him  by  the  Town  Pump  there  was  fresh 
confusion  at  the  Custom-house,  and  despite  his  protest 
Palmes  hurried  down,  hoping  to  keep  it  in  bounds.  When 
he  arrived,  Theodore  Bliss,  just  come  from  the  South  End, 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  215 

was  questioning  Captain  Preston  anxiously,  "Are  the  sol 
diers  loaded?"  "They  are."  He  continued,  "With  ball?" 
but  received  no  reply.  Still  more  worried,  he  asked  again, 
"Are  they  going  to  fire?"  "Not  without  my  orders." 

Immediately  after  Bliss  left  him,  Richard  Palmes  went 
forward,  and  placing  his  left  hand  gravely  on  the  young 
officer's  right  shoulder,  repeated  the  question,  "Are  the  mus 
kets  loaded?"  This  time  the  answer  came,  "Yes,  with 
powder  and  ball."  "I  hope,"  Palmes  urged,  "you  do  not 
intend  they  shall  fire  upon  the  inhabitants?"  "By  no 
means,"  he  replied  promptly,  and  added,1  "I  am  before 
the  muzzles,  and  must  fall  if  they  fire.  Their  pieces  are 
on  half  cock  and  their  bayonets  charged.  No  officer  would 
order  men  to  fire  in  such  a  case."  While  these  words 
passed,  John  Hickling  had  rested  a  hand  on  Palmes'  shoul 
der,  Preston  standing  in  front  of  his  men  at  the  end  of  their 
bayonets.  Before  they  had  finished,  the  soldiers,  previously 
standing  at  ease,  had  come  to  shoving  and  pushing  at  the 
town-born  once  more.  One  of  them  pushed  Hickling  him 
self  in  the  side,  and  swore  that  he  would  run  him  through. 
Hickling  instantly  caught  hold  of  the  bayonet,  crying, 
"Nobody  is  going  to  meddle  with  you." 

At  this  critical  moment  a  fresh  body  arrived  from  Jack 
son's  corner.  A  little  before  this,  starting  from  the  Pump 
in  the  market,  a  party  of  twenty  or  thirty  went  up  Cornhill. 
About  half  had  broken  cordwood  sticks,  the  thickness  of 
one's  wrist,  which  they  carried  upright  above  their  heads. 
They  cried,  "Let  us  go  up  to  the  Town-house,"  and  set 
forward.  At  their  head  was  a  powerful  mulatto,  a  sailor 
in  port,  intending  for  North  Carolina.  He  had  a  large 
cordwood  stick,  having  provided  Patrick  Keaton  with  an 
other  earlier  in  the  evening,  saying,  "Take  it."  This, 
Keaton  alleges,  he  dropped  in  the  snow  at  the  head  of  the 
lane.  Some  soldiers  were  then  in  the  streets  about  the  bar 
racks,  being  driven  in  for  the  last  time.  Finding  there 
would  be  no  fun  in  this  quarter,  the  party  swooped  back 

1  War  in  America,  I,  231.     Murray. 


216    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

toward  the  Town-house.  Newtown  Prince,  standing  at  his 
door,  had  asked  where  the  fire  was,  and  been  answered, 
"There  is  none,  it  is  something  better."  Now,  as  he  stood, 
he  saw  the  gang  by  the  west  door  of  the  Town-house,  on 
Main  Street,  in  hot  discussion.  "Let's  go  and  attack  the 
Main  Guard,"  said  some.  Others,  "For  God's  sake,  do 
not  meddle  with  them."  "By  — ,  we  will  go!"  "King 
Street  forever! "  "Do  not  go."  In  the  end,  with  an  answer 
ing  whoop,  they  came  on  down,  reinforcing  the  earlier  party 
whose  cheers  caught  their  attention,  shouting,  "We  are  not 
afraid  of  them!  They  dare  not  fire." 

Corporal  William  Wemms  now  stood  on  the  left  of 
the  party,  the  captain,  Thomas  Preston,  at  the  right,  and 
by  his  side  Hugh  Montgomery.  The  next  but  one  to  the 
corporal  was  a  tall  fellow,  Win.  Warren;  John  Carrol  was 
about  in  the  centre.  The  remaining  soldiers,  beside  the 
sentry,  Hugh  White,  were  James  Hartigan,  Wm.  McCauley, 
and  Matthew  Killroy.  They  had  borne  all  they  could,  and 
the  captain  ceased  to  restrain  their  ill-temper  which  had 
risen  to  wrath.  Nat  Russell  noticed  the  soldiers  fairly 
a-quiver  with  pent-up  feeling.  Some  hundred  and  forty 
by-standers  formed  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd,  leaning  on 
their  sticks,  or  with  hands  in  their  bosoms  out  of  the  nipping 
night  air,  others  whistling  through  their  fingers.  The  sixty 
directly  opposite  to  the  guard  surged  in  still  nearer.  "Do 
not  press  on  the  soldiers,"  warned  Robert  Williams,  who 
was  in  the  hurly  trying  to  see  what  would  be  the  upshot. 

All  at  once  a  change  of  expression  in  Preston's  face  made 
one  of  the  towners  quit  speaking  with  him  and  turn  sud 
denly,  with  the  words,  "D —  him,  he  is  going  to  fire." 

Incredulous  or  defiant,  the  shout  rose  up  against  the 
soldiers,  "Fire  and  be  d — d.  Who  cares  for  you!"  A 
perfect  shower  of  snowballs  came  fast  and  thick  from  the 
back,  one  of  them  striking  a  grenadier's  hat,  a  stick  rapped 
another's  fingers,  a  stout  fellow  directly  in  front  of  the  sol 
diers  continually  whacked  their  guns,  and  a  powerful  fellow 
with  a  large  stick  of  cordwood  aimed  a  blow  at  Preston, 


BOSTON   MASSACRE  217 

which  he  warded  off  with  his  left  arm.  "Think  you  I'll  be 
used  in  this  manner?"  Robert  Goddard  heard  him  exclaim. 
Attucks,  the  mulatto,  it  is  supposed,  with  a  swift  turn, 
now  struck  Montgomery's  arm  so  violently,  as  he  stood 
at  the  captain's  right,  toward  the  corner  of  Exchange 
Lane,  that  his  gun  flew  out  of  his  hand,  and  he  slipped 
and  fell  in  trying  to  recover  it.  Gaining  possession  of  the 
piece,  Attucks  then  gave  the  soldier  a  blow  on  his  hat  or 
cheek,  making  with  his  left  hand  a  few  passes  with  the 
captured  bayonet,  as  he  cried,  "Kill  the  dogs,  knock  them 
over."  Two  or  three  boatswain's  calls  were  piped  shrilly 
from  out  the  crowd.  At  the  same  instant  a  slender,  white 
birch  cordwood  stick  was  flung  from  the  back.  It  went 
almost  as  high  as  the  sign  and  Burdick  thought  cleared 
the  soldiers,  flying  over  their  heads.  However  that  may 
be,  the  affair  had  come  to  a  head,  and  the  watchman  caught 
the  ominous  words:  "Are  you  loaded?  Are  you  all  ready?" 
At  the  word,  "Present,"  Simpson  and  Bailey  crouched,  the 
former  with  his  back  to  the  soldiers.  He  next  heard  an 
impatient,  "D —  you,  fire!"  as  he  supposed  from  the  sentry- 
box,  where  he  had  last  seen  Preston,  but  the  confusion  was 
such  none  could  tell  positively  who  gave  the  command. 
Montgomery  only  waited  until,  by  a  snatch,  he  regained  his 
piece  and  then  fired  in  a  blaze  of  fury.  He  was  followed 
almost  at  once  by  a  second  soldier,  supposed  to  have  been 
Killroy  or  Warren.  In  the  interval  Attucks  had  stepped 
back  about  fifteen  feet  and  stood  confronting  the  soldiers, 
resting  his  weight  composedly  on  his  cordwood  stick.  He 
may  have  thought  the  men  were  still  in  Preston's  control. 
What  he  thought  was  never  known,  for  with  the  first  fire 
he  fell.  Burdick  ran  to  his  side  and  asked  him  if  he  was 
hurt,  but  received  no  reply;  the  poor  fellow  was  gasping 
and  struggling  in  death.  Further  up  the  street,  on  the 
right,  lay  another,  who  may  have  been  Maverick,  whom 
some  heard  cry  "Murder"  at  the  first  shot. 

About  two  hours  before  he  died  Maverick    told    Dr. 
Hirons  he  went  up  Exchange  Lane  and,  hearing  a  gun, 


218    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

kept  on  toward  the  Town-house.  Midway  he  was  wounded. 
It  was  supposed  the  ball  must  have  struck  a  wall  and 
bounded  back.  It  lodged  between  the  lower  ribs,  whence 
it  was  removed.  Mr.  Payne  exclaimed  to  his  friends, 
"There  is  a  gun  snapped,  did  you  hear  it?"  and  after  it 
was  discharged  "reached  to  see"  if  it  was  powder,  or  if 
any  dropped. 

There  had  been  a  general  stampede  when  the  firing 
opened,  the  crowd  parting  to  the  left  and  right.  As  one 
wing  folded  back  toward  Exchange  Lane,  Williams  was 
carried  in  the  press  out  of  sight  of  the  right-hand  soldiers, 
where  the  firing  began,  and  could  only  see  those  on  the 
extreme  left.  He  supposed  Attucks  lay  about  one  foot 
over  the  south  side  of  the  gutter.  John  Hickling  was 
still  at  Palmes'  shoulder,  too  absorbed  to  note  the  growing 
animosity,  when  a  lump  of  ice  rattled  against  one  of  the 
soldiers.  Almost  without  warning,  so  far  as  they  were 
concerned,  a  gun  or  two  went  off.  Hickling  had  barely 
time  to  avoid  its  fire  by  springing  to  the  left,  inside  the 
soldiers'  bayonets.  The  ball  passed  between  him  and 
Palmes.  A  moment  after,  Palmes  saw  Attucks  lying  about 
six  feet  distant  on  the  snow,  which  covered  the  street  like 
a  cake. 

Almost  beside  himself  with  passion,  Palmes  rushed  on 
the  first  soldier  and  struck  Montgomery's  gun  from  his 
hand.  He  had  raised  his  stick  again,  meaning  to  strike 
Preston,  but  it  glanced  ineffectually  on  the  captain's  arm, 
through  his  right  foot  slipping  on  the  trampled  snow. 
This  brought  him  on  his  knee.  Montgomery,  seeing  his 
chance,  sprang  forward  to  run  him  through,  but  Palmes 
flung  his  walking-stick  in  the  grenadier's  face  and  jumped 
from  him  into  Exchange  Lane.  The  soldier  stepped  'round  the 
corner  to  pursue  him,  when  he,  too  luckily,  fell,  and  Palmes 
ran  on  and  doubled  back  by  the  next  lane  to  a  safer  part  of 
King  Street.  Nat  Fosdick  was  near  enough  at  this  time  to 
"rush  in"  on  the  soldiers,  and  when  Montgomery  fell  in 
chasing  Palmes,  he  shouted,  "Take  his  gun  from  him." 


^p™ 


ill 

'      J/'TV^* 


BOSTON  MASSACRE 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  219 

The  soldiers  surrounded  Fosdick  instantly,  giving  him  three 
bayonet  pushes,  one  in  his  left  arm  and  elbow,  the  third 
in  his  breast,  the  last  serious  enough  to  be  exhibited  at  the 
trial  some  months  later.  Fosdick  was  in  a  towering  rage 
and  drew  off  by  way  of  Quaker  Lane,  where  he  told  a  num 
ber  of  by-standers  not  to  let  the  soldiers  get  away,  and, 
crossing  the  street,  took  the  lane  near  the  Town-house, 
urging  the  crowd  at  this  point  to  rally  and  he  would  fetch 
his  gun  and  lead  them.  But  before  he  could  get  back, 
returning  citizens  told  him  the  soldiers  were  gone  off  and 
all  was  over  for  the  night. 

At  first  several  supposed  the  soldiers  used  powder  only. 
This  was  Brewer's  opinion,  who  was  speaking  to  Christopher 
Monk  when  the  first  volley  came.  The  lad  seemed  to 
falter,  and  he  asked  him  doubtingly,  "Are  you  wounded?" 
and  to  his,  "Yes,"  responded,  "I  do  not  think  it."  Young 
Sam  Gray  was  by  Langford  at  this  time,  his  hands  rammed 
into  the  breast  of  his  coat  for  warmth.  There  was  a  slight 
delay,  owing  to  the  scuffle  with  Palmes  and  Fosdick.  Then 
came  an  emphatic  order,  "Fire  by  all  means,  be  the  conse 
quence  what  it  will."  Preston,  stamping  his  foot  and  swear 
ing  at  the  men  who  needed  little  urging,  three  or  four  guns 
sounded  in  reply,  as  measured  as  the  ticking  of  an  old  hall 
clock. 

George  Costar  of  the  Bay  of  Bulls,  Newfoundland,  a 
mariner,  was  standing  between  Attucks  and  Sam  Gray. 
Between  the  first  and  second  volleys,  young  Gray  stepped 
up  to  Attucks  and  was  looking  at  him  when  the  men  fired 
again.  Charles  Hobby  saw  a  soldier,  thought  to  have  been 
Killroy,  take  deliberate  aim  at  the  lad's  head.  Langford 
regarded  him  and  bade  him  not  to  fire,  which  he  straight 
way  did,  and  Gray,  turning  himself  round  upon  his  heel, 
dropped  dead  on  his  back  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  fall 
ing  across  Langford's  left  foot.  Robert  Williams,  in  great 
perturbation,  sank  on  his  knees.  The  guns  seemed  to  him 
to  follow  the  running  crowd.  Langford  had  been  standing 
halfway  between  the  lane  and  the  sentry-box,  within  three 


220    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

or  four  feet  of  the  gutter.  Seeing  what  had  befallen  his 
friend,  he  now  rushed  forward,  but  Killroy,  thrusting  his 
bayonet  between  his  jacket  and  greatcoat,  Langford  beat 
a  retreat  to  the  watch-house,  where  he  took  stand. 

Colonel  Marshall  had  a  mind  to  take  his  staff — meaning 
by  this  probably  a  fire  ward's  staff,1  five  feet  in  length, 
painted  red  and  tipped  with  a  brass  spiral  six  inches  long, 
used  to  direct  the  firemen — when  he  heard  the  alarm-bells 
ring,  but  was  warned  to  keep  in  that  night,  and  stayed  at 
his  door.  He  had  supposed,  with  others,  Captain  Preston 
only  intended  relieving  the  sentry,  and  wondered  at  his 
tarrying  so  long.  The  sentry-box  cut  off  his  view  of  Ex 
change  Lane,  and  the  first  intimation  he  had  of  danger  was 
the  first  gun,  which  he  supposed  accidental.  Before  the 
smoke  was  well  away,  however,  the  crowd  had  parted  and 
he  saw  several  had  fallen. 

Hickling  ran  to  one,  who  he  heard  later  was  Gray, 
and  saw  blood  gushing  from  a  hole  in  his  head  the  size  of 
his  hand.  Then  he  went  to  Attucks,  who  lay  gasping, 
pulled  his  head  out  of  the  gutter,  and  left  him.  Scarce 
knowing  what  he  did,  Hickling  went  toward  the  soldiers 
and  asked,  What  they  thought  of  themselves  and  whether 
they  did  not  deserve  to  be  cut  in  pieces  to  lay  men  wallow 
ing  in  such  a  manner.  The  soldiers,  who  were  reloading, 
told  him  to  keep  off  at  his  peril.  The  rammers  were 
distinctly  heard.  With  a  sort  of  desperate,  blind  courage 
the  people  gave  three  cheers  and  shouted,  "Let  us  go  in 
upon  them  and  prevent  their  firing  again."  With  this  they 
put  on  their  hats  and  advanced.  Robert  Patterson  had 
raised  his  right  arm  to  put  on  his  own  hat  when  the  sentinel 
"up  with  his  gun,"  the  ball  went  through  his  forearm,  and 
his  hand  fell.  Josiah  Simpson,  stooping  near  by,  had  a 
ball  clear  his  back  by  a  bare  five  inches,  and  was  spattered 
from  Patterson's  wound.  Caldwell  was  killed  about  ten 
feet  distant,  and,  expecting  the  soldiers  would  charge  next, 

1  History  of  the  Boston  Fire  Department.  Arthur  Wellington  Bray  ley.  Boston, 
1889:  John  P.  Dale  and  Co. 


BOSTON   MASSACRE 

Simpson  darted  down  Quaker  Lane  and  so  up  into  Main 
Street.  John  Wilson  helped  Patterson  home. 

There  were  fewer  in  the  street  when  the  soldiers  on  the 
left  fired,  and  these  were  over  the  way  from  the  guard. 
In  this  last  firing,  a  ball  passed  through  Mr.  Payne's  right 
arm,  shattering  some  of  the  bones;  and  finding  himself 
wounded,  he  went  indoors,  remarking  1  as  he  left,  "Those 
soldiers  ought  to  be  talked  to!"  Months  later  he  was 
forced  to  use  his  left  hand  in  signature,  as  John  Amory 
bears  witness.  Patrick  Carr  was  also  wounded,  as  he  sup 
posed,  by  the  first  or  second  man  from  the  box.  When  he 
lay  dying  on  the  8th,  he  said  he  had  no  blame  for  the  sol 
diers;  he  really  thought  they  fired  in  self-defence,  under 
just  provocation.  The  gun  of  the  last  man  on  the  left 
flashed  in  the  pan  and  he  primed  again.  In  this  pause  there 
was  a  cry,  "Let  us  pick  up  our  dead  and  not  let  the  soldiers 
have  them."  Samuel  Condon,  supposing  the  firing  ceased, 
returned  and  saw  a  body  being  carried  off.  The  street  was 
now  practically  cleared,  the  people  running  promiscuously. 
Bridgham  saw  the  last  gun  deliberately  aimed  at  a  little 
boy  running  along  on  the  left  and  crying,  "Fire,  fire!" 
Happily  this  missed.  The  little  boy  told  Hiller  men  had 
been  killed,  but  he  was  slow  to  believe  it  had  been  any 
thing  more  than  powder-firing,  and  supposed  that  the  men 
had  cast  their  greatcoats  here  and  there  on  the  snow  run 
ning  off  in  a  fright.  After  this  last  shot  the  officer  sprang 
in  front  of  his  men  and  waved  his  sword,  saying,  "D —  ye, 
rascals,  what  did  ye  fire  for?"  to  their  utter  confounding. 

Going  up  behind  the  soldiers  on  the  right  wing,  Wyat  saw 
four  or  five  grouped  about  a  body,  wondering  if  the  man 
was  dead.  A  soldier  called  to  them,  "D —  his — ,he  is  dead. 
If  he  ever  sprawl  again  I'll  be  d —  for  him."  Condon,  as 
he  stood  there,  heard  someone,  possibly  Ben  Lee  or  Leigh, 
an  "undertaker  in  the  Delph  Manufactory,"  ask  Mont 
gomery  his  reason  for  such  doings.  The  grenadier  answered 
savagely  with  an  oath,  "You  boogers,  I  could  kill  a  thou- 

1  Antiquities,  782.     Drake. 


222    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

sand  of  you/'  He  was  then  busily  reloading.  Burdick 
had  quickly  fetched  Dr.  Joseph  Gardner  and  Mr.  David 
Bradley  to  Attucks.  While  stooping  over  him  in  the  street, 
at  their  first  coming,  the  soldiers  presented  their  pieces 
threateningly.  Hiller,  who  had  just  come  up  to  survey 
Attucks,  heard  the  soldiers  cock  their  guns.  The  sound 
seemed  to  pass  from  right  to  left.  Captain  Preston  was 
forced  to  shove  up  their  muskets  and  say,  "Stop  firing. 
Don't  fire  any  more. "  Upon  which  they  shouldered  arms. 
The  people  continued  steadily  caring  for  the  fallen.  The 
sailor,  George  Costar,  and  Samuel  Drowne  helped  in  this. 
So  did  Robert  Goddard,  \vho  helped  carry  the  mulatto 
into  Mr.  Stone's  store,  where  he  gave  one  last  gasp.  Open 
ing  his  breast,  Goddard  found  twro  bullet-holes,  one  in  each 
breast.  About  the  same  time  Hickling  helped  in  carrying 
Gray's  body  into  Dr.  Loring's  shop,  where  he  left  him, 
the  shop  was  so  full.  Some  friends  now  gathered  about 
Carr  and  carried  him  home  to  Mrs.  Field's.  The  sailor, 
Ben  Frizel,  supported  and  steadied  him,  or  one  other  of  the 
sufferers,  until  a  chair  could  be  fetched. 

About  this  time  a  townsman  l  warned  Preston  that 
four  or  five  thousand  men  in  the  next  street  were  asking 
for  his  life.  The  soldiers  were  accordingly  ordered  to  march 
into  the  road,  when  they  had  loaded,  with  bayonets  breast- 
high.  Robert  Goddard,  glancing  from  Mr.  Stone's  door, 
saw  them  there,  two  gentlemen  talking  with  the  captain. 
This  was  probably  the  moment  when  Burdick  in  righteous 
wrath  went  close  up  to  the  soldiers  who  had  threat 
ened  the  surgeons  and  told  them  all  he  came  to  see  some 
faces  that  he  might  be  able  to  swear  to  another  day.  The 
captain  spoke  betwixt  two  of  them,  rather  diverting  his 
scrutiny,  and  assented  in  a  "melancholy  tone,"  "Perhaps 
you  may."  When  he  had  finished,  Burdick  turned  on  his  heel 
and  Captain  Preston's  party  marched  without  hindrance 
to  the  Main  Guard.  They  had  only  been  gone  some  twelve 
or  fifteen  minutes.  It  was  less  than  half  an  hour  since 

1  War  in  America,  I,  232.     Murray. 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  223 

Hugh  White's  cry  for  aid.  Here  they  were  formed  in  l 
position  for  street-firing,  and  a  sergeant  sent  to  acquaint 
Colonel  Dalrymple.  Hearing  the  town  drums  beat  to 
arms,  Preston  ordered  his  drum  to  beat  and  the  rest  of  the 
29th  fell  in,  some  officers  bringing  stories  of  tussles  with 
the  towners  while  joining  their  command;  one  had  been 
wounded  and  lost  his  sword.  Returning  to  Dr.  Jeffries, 
we  find  he  had  only  been  within  doors  a  short  time  when 
the  girl  ran  in  from  the  kitchen  and  surprised  him  by  say 
ing,  "There  is  a  gun  fired;"  hearing  which,  he  hurried  out. 
There  was  much  need  of  doctors  that  night,  and  little 
parties  sorrowfully  made  their  way  in  every  direction  as 
bearers  or  escort  to  the  injured. 

They  were  eleven  in  number.     Of  the  killed :  — 

1.  Samuel  Gray,  a  journeyman  ropewalker,  instantly. 

2.  Crispus  Attucks,  who  was  at  first  spoken  of  as  Michael 
Johnson,  but  subsequently  identified  as  a  mulatto  of  Indian 
descent  —  Attucks  in  the  Natick  tongue  signifying  Deer. 
A  native  of  Framingham,  he  had  latterly  hailed  from  New 
Providence,  Nassau,  and  was  on  the  eve  of  sailing  for  North 
Carolina  on  Captain  Folger's  Nantucket  whaler.     His  age 
was  about  forty-seven.     He  was  six  feet,  two,  in  height. 
In  his  case,  too,  death  came  instantly.     As  also  to 

3.  James  Caldwell,  called  Covil,  by  Prentiss,  mate  of 
Captain  Morton's  vessel;  two  balls  entering  his  breast. 

4.  Samuel  Maverick,  a  lad  of  seventeen  or  less,  son  of 
Mrs.  Mary  Maverick,  a  widow,  was  mortally  wounded  in 
the  belly,   and   died   next   morning.     He   was   a  youth  of 
much  promise,  and  apprenticed  to  Greenwood,  the  joiner. 

5.  Patrick   Carr,   the  Irishman,   about  thirty   years   of 
age,  had  a  ball  enter  his  hip,  which  was  cut  out  at  the  side. 
He  lingered  until  the  14th,  and,  attended  by  many,  was 
placed  in  the  same  grave  as  the  preceding.     Of  the  wounded : 

6.  Christopher  Monk,  about   seventeen,  apprentice  to 
Thomas  Walker  the  shipwright,  had  a  ball  enter  his  back 
near  the  spine,  which  was  cut  out  of  the  breast.     March 

1  War  in  America,  I,  232.     Murray. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

5,  1774,  at  the  Anniversary  Oration,1  £319  13s.  3d.  O.  T. 
was  raised  for  young  Monk,  "now  languishing  under  a 
wound  received  in  his  lungs."  In  1780,  at  a  later  memorial 
service,  a  collection  was  still  being  taken. 

7.  John  Clark,  Jr.,  Samuel  Howard's  apprentice,  about 
seventeen  years,  was  also  dangerously  wounded,  the  ball 
coming  out  at  his  hip.     Clark's  parents  lived  in  Medford. 
He  died  1778. 

8.  Mr.  Edward  Payne,  merchant,  in  his  entry-way,  as 
described. 

9.  John   Green,   a  tailor,   wounded  just  as  he  turned 
Messrs    Amory's    Corner    coming    from    Leverett's    Lane, 
(that  is,   Quaker  Lane,   or   Congress   Street).     He  had   a 
ball  extracted  from  his  thigh;  the  town  2  voting  him  £12 
15s.  to  discharge  his  surgeon's  bill,  with  a  further  allowance 
of  £18  because  of  "his  numerous  Family"  and  enforced 
loss  of  work  for  seven  months. 

10.  Robert   Patterson,  the   sailor,  as   described.     It   is 
curious  to  note  he  had  had  his  trowsers  shot  through  in  the 
Richardson  affair  the  previous  month. 

11.  Lastly,    David    Parker,    apprentice    to    Eddy,    the 
wheelwright,  had  a  ball  lodged  in  his  thigh. 

As  'prentice  lads,  Christopher  Monk,  Clark,  and  Parker 
may  have  worn  short  blue  coats  with  metal  buttons,  and 
small  beaver  hats.  The  spot  where  this  took  place  is  indi 
cated  in  the  street-paving  to  this  day  by  a  circle  of  granite 
blocks  ten  feet  in  diameter. 

The  bodies  of  the  two  sailors,  Attucks  and  Caldwell, 
were  carried  eventually  to  Faneuil  Hall;  Palmes  and  Gridley, 
with  others,  following  on  after  them  as  far  as  the  prison 
(where  the  present  Court-house  now  stands).  Charles 
Hobby  picked  up  a  round  hat  and  kept  with  the 
party  carrying  Gray  to  a  house  near  the  Post-office,  doubt 
less  his  brother  Benjamin's,  in  Royal  Exchange  Lane  on 

1  Life  of  Hancock,  183.     Brown. 

2  Boston   Town    Records,    1770-7,    45-6,  49.     Document  91,   Boston,    1887. 
Eighteenth  Report  of  the  Record  Commissioners. 


BOSTON  MASSACRE 

the  north  side  of  the  Exchange.  Young  Maverick's  mother 
lived  in  Union  Street.  Sobered  and  sorrowing,  the  little 
groups  moved  slowly  homeward.  While  the  rest  were 
busy  with  the  wounded,  Cato,  negro  servant  to  Tuthill 
Hubbard,  Esq.,  saw  several  soldiers  with  cutlasses  enter 
the  Custom-house.  There  had  been  many  witnesses  to 
more  than  connivance  on  the  part  of  its  inmates.  Cato, 
himself,  had  seen  two  flashes  in  quick  succession  from  the 
chamber  window  there.  Francis  Read  marked  two,  high 
above  the  rest,  as  did  Gillam  Bass.  Jeremiah  Allen,  at 
the  first  firing,  stepped  to  the  balcony  of  the  Bunch  o' 
Grapes.  Noticing  these  same  flashes,  Allen  had  said  to 
his  companions,  William  Molineaux,  Jr.,  and  John  Simpson, 
"There  they  are,  out  of  the  Custom-house."  Samuel 
Drowne  could  see  from  his  position  one  gun  flash  from  the 
window  west  of  the  balcony,  and  another  pointed  through 
the  ballisters  of  the  balcony;  the  man  who  fired  the  latter 
was  in  a  stooping  position,  his  face  partly  muffled  with  a 
handkerchief.  Costar  heard  people  within  laugh  and  speak 
before  the  casement  was  lowered.  Frizel  and  Bass  only 
differed  in  supposing  there  were  three  fired  in  all. 

It  was  a  curious  fact  that  Benjamin  Andrews,  on  being 
desired  to  get  the  range  of  sundry  bullet-holes,  found  one, 
two  and  one-half  inches  deep,  in  Mr.  Payne's  front  door 
post,  ranged  under  the  stool  of  the  westernmost  window  of 
the  Custom-house.  The  ball  which  passed  through  the 
lower  story  window-shutter  here,  and  lodged  in  the  back 
wall  of  Mr.  Payne's  shop,  ranged  breast-high  from  the 
ground,  between  the  second  and  third  windows,  from  the 
western  corner  of  the  Custom-house.  The  holes  in  Warden 
and  Vernon's  shop,  through  the  outer  shutters  and  in  the 
wall  of  the  back  partition,  ranged  with  the  westernmost 
side  of  the  first  window  west  of  the  great  door  of  the  Cus 
tom-house.  Dr.  Benjamin  Church,  Jr.,  when  requested 
by  the  coroner,  Robert  Pierpont,  to  examine  Attucks' 
body,  apprehended  the  gun  was  discharged  from  some  ele 
vation.  Finally  we  have  the  statement  of  a  French  boy, 


226     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Charlotte  or  Charles  Bourgate,  indented  to  Edward  Man- 
waring,  Esq.,  an  officer  of  the  Customs  lodging  with  the 
Hudsons  at  the  North  End.  About  half  an  hour  before 
the  bells  rang  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Munroe  went  off  to  drink 
a  glass  of  wine  at  the  Custom-house.  The  boy  followed 
them  there  at  the  alarm,  and  was  let  in  by  Hammond 
Green.  Four  or  five  men  instantly  hauled  the  lad  upstairs 
with  the  words,  "My  good  boy,  come."  He  found  but  one 
light  in  the  corner  of  this  chamber,  a  number  of  gentle 
men,  and  two  guns,  one  being  loaded  by  a  tall  man.  When 
ready,  it  was  thrust  in  the  boy's  hand  and  the  tall  man 
said  Bourgate  "must  fire,  or  he  would  kill  him."  The  boy 
protested,  but  the  man  drew  a  sword  out  of  his  cane  and 
said  he  should  run  him  through  if  he  refused,  and  slid  the 
gun  barrel  through  the  window  opening.  Bourgate  fired 
sideways  up  the  street.  The  man  reloaded,  threatened  the 
boy  for  hesitation,  who  again  fired  as  before.  Manwaring 
then  came  in  and  fired.  The  tall  man  now  clapped  Bour 
gate  on  the  shoulder.  "That's  my  good  boy;  I'll  give  you 
some  money  to-morrow."  The  boy  answered  he  did  not 
want  any.  He  caught  a  better  view  of  this  man  as  he  went 
down,  from  a  door  standing  ajar  on  the  lower  floor  with 
light  inside.  Two  or  three  were  about  in  the  entry.  Ham 
mond  let  Bourgate  out,  who  ran  home  and  sat  up  all  night 
in  the  kitchen  in  great  distress  of  mind.  Having  been 
beaten  by  Manwaring  for  telling  Mrs.  Waldron  about  his 
firing,  Bourgate  from  fear  denied  all  this  to  Justice  Quincy, 
but  felt  uneasy  until  he  had  made  a  clean  breast  of  it  at 
the  trial. 

Hammond  Green  kept  all  this  in  the  background.  After 
seeing  the  dead  from  the  chamber  window  he  let  Eliza 
Avery  out  by  the  front  door  and  let  his  father,  Bartholo 
mew,  in,  who  asked  what  this  was  about,  and  his  son  told 
him.  He  next  asked,  "Where  are  the  girls?"  and  leaving 
the  kitchen  went  up  to  them.  Here  Mr.  Green  opened 
the  window,  which  his  son  quickly  shut.  Presently  both 
looked  out.  In  the  meantime,  Matthias  King,  from  the 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  227 

Widow  Torrey's  upper  chamber  window,  saw  a  drum  and 
guard  go  to  Murray's  barracks;  he  also  saw  one  of  the 
guard  kneel  and  present  his  piece  and  swear  he'd  fire  on  a 
parcel  of  boys  then  in  the  street,  but  nothing  came  of  it. 

The  firing  had  been  remarked  throughout  the  neigh 
borhood.  At  the  report,  Dr.  Hirons  heard  Captain  Gold 
finch,  still  on  the  barrack  steps,  say:  "I  thought  it  would 
come  to  this.  It  is  time  for  me  to  go."  Thomas  Jackson, 
Jr.,  hearing  the  drum  beat  to  arms,  said  to  his  guests  he 
feared  some  disturbance.  "Foh!"  said  one,  "I  believe  it 
is  nothing  but  boys."  The  drum  approached,  and  Jackson 
caught  up  his  hat.  Outside  he  was  told  the  military 
had  shot  down  and  killed  six.  A  man  by  Concert  Hall 
confirmed  the  story.  Knocking  at  the  Custom-house,  he 
demanded  admittance.  Hammond  called  from  the  window 
over  the  sentry-box,  "Who's  there?"  Jackson  could  see 
the  young  women  beside  him.  Green  promptly  refused 
to  let  him  in  since  he  had  orders  to  refuse  all,  and  neither 
his  father,  if  he  were  out,  nor  even  one  of  the  Commissioners 
might  enter.  Jackson  then  stood  about  with  Captain  John 
Riordan  and  saw  a  party  of  the  29th  march  down  Queen 
Street  and  join  the  assembling  regiment,  and  presently  the 
whole  force  stood  under  arms  in  three  divisions.  One  is 
inclined  to  think  the  last  grenadiers  who  were  driven 
back  from  Cornhill  and  disappeared  past  the  Main  Guard 
came  from  the  ropewalk  district,  for  when,  on  hearing  the 
firing,  John  Brailsford  asked  Swan  in  Green's  Lane,  "What 
can  that  mean?"  Swan  said  confidently,  "It's  the  Guards. 
You  had  better  go  home."  Mary  Gardner,  who  lived  on 
Atkinson  Street,  noticed  a  bunch  of  soldiers  opposite  her 
gate,  standing  very  still  in  front  of  Green's  barracks.  At 
the  sound  of  the  report  they  clapped  and  cheered.  "This 
is  all  that  we  want,"  cried  one,  and  running  inside  they 
were  speedily  on  the  march.  Wm.  Fallass,  at  the  head  of 
the  lane  leading  to  Green's  barracks,  after  the  massacre, 
saw  the  soldiers  rushing  by  so  furiously  they  could  hardly 
keep  their  ranks.  As  they  went  there  was  a  shout,  "This 


228    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

is  our  time,"  or  "chance."  King  heard  one  of  the  officers 
of  the  29th  by  the  Main  Guard  exclaim,  "This  is  fine  work 
and  just  what  I  wanted."  The  officers  were  walking  ex 
citedly  backwards  and  forwards  there,  and  John  Allman 
heard  them  rejoice,  "D —  it,  what  a  fine  fire  that  was. 
How  bravely  it  dispersed  the  mob."  Eben  Dorr  saw  the 
29th  paraded,  their  lines  crossing  the  southern  fork  of 
King  Street.  The  whole  of  the  first  platoon  presented 
their  arms  ready  for  immediate  firing;  the  first  rank  were 
kneeling.  And  in  this  position  they  continued  minute 
after  minute,  fronting  the  people  still  gathered  below. 
Isaac  Pierce  so  found  them  as  he  accompanied  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Hutchinson  to  the  Town-house.  Captain  Preston 
was  then  on  the  right,  and  as  they  drew  near,  Pierce  said 
to  him,  "There  is  his  honor,  the  Commander-in-Chief." 
"Where?"  inquired  Preston.  "There"  Pierce  continued 
meaningly,  "and  you  are  presenting  your  firelocks  at  him." 
Before  he  could  rally,  Hutchinson  turned  ceremoniously  on 
the  young  officer.  "Are  you  the  commanding  officer?" 
"Yes,  sir."  He  then  continued,  "Do  you  know,  sir,  you 
have  no  power  to  fire  on  any  body  of  people  collected 
together,  except  you  have  a  civil  magistrate  with  you,  to 
give  orders."  "Sir,  we  were  insulted.  I  was  obliged  to 
save  my  sentry,"  he  began  by  way  of  defence.  "Then," 
retorted  Pierce,  "y°u  have  murdered  three  or  four  men 
to  save  your  sentry." 

Declining  to  enter  the  guard-house,  Hutchinson  now 
repaired  to  the  Council  Chamber.  Palmes  supposed  a 
thousand  had  gathered.  Looking  out  at  the  door,  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  desired  the  people's  attention,  bade 
them  go  home,  and  promised  an  inquiry  should  be  set  on 
foot  next  morning,  and  the  law  should  take  its  course; 
closing  characteristically,  "I  will  live  and  die  by  the  law." 
A  gentleman  desired  his  Honor  to  order  the  soldiers  to 
their  barracks.  Hutchinson  disclaimed  the  power,  which  lay 
with  Colonel  Wm.  Dairy mple,  adding,  however,  he  would 
send  for  him,  which  he  did  after  some  time.  Upon  that 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  229 

a  gentleman  desired  his  Honor  to  look  out  of  the  window 
facing  the  Main  Guard  and  see  the  position  the  soldiers 
were  in.  After  a  good  deal  of  persuasion  he  came,  and 
called  for  Colonel  Carr,  and  desired  him  to  order  the  troops 
into  their  barracks  in  their  present  order,  which  was  done, 
the  guard  being  first  strengthened  by  "picquet." 

Respecting  this  spirited  scene  Deacon  Tudor  1  writes: 
"Leut.  Governor  Hutchinson,  who  was  commander  in 
Chefe,  was  sent  for  &  Came  to  the  Council  Chamber,  were 
som  of  the  magistrates  attended.  The  Governor  desired  the 
Multitude  about  10  o'clock  to  sepperat  &  go  home  peace 
able  &  he  would  do  all  in  his  power  that  justice  should  be 
don  &c.  The  29th.  Rigiment  being  then  under  Arms  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Townhouse,  but  the  people  insisted 
that  the  Soldiers  should  be  ordered  to  their  Barracks  1st 
before  they  would  sepperat,  which  being  don  the  people 
sepperated  about  1  o'clock."  This  was  brought  about  the 
sooner  by  the  High  Sheriff's  appearing 2  in  the  Town-house 
balcony,  and  ordering  silence,  after  which  he  proclaimed 
that  Preston  and  the  soldiers  should  be  given  up;  "let  all 
disperse." 

John  Brailsford,  private  in  the  14th,  told  Mary  Russell, 
for  whom  he  had  occasionally  worked,  it  was  well  the  inhab 
itants  did  not  fire  back.  All  of  his  regiment  were  in  readi 
ness  to  turn  out.  On  being  asked  if  he  would  really  have 
fired  on  towners,  Brailsford  replied,  "Yes,  if  ordered,  but 
if  he  saw  in  time,  he  should  aim  wide  of  Mr.  Russell." 
About  nine,  alarmed  by  the  bells,  John  Adams,3  who  was 
attending  a  club  meeting  at  Mr.  Henderson  Inches'  in  the 
South  End,  caught  up  his  hat  and  cloak  and  ran  outside 
with  the  rest,  where  he  met  a  "crowd  of  people  flowing 
down  the  street."  All  was  over  when  he  reached  the  Town 
house,  by  the  south  door  of  which  he  saw  the  field-pieces 
surrounded  by  a  guard  of  engineers  and  grenadiers.  Fear 
ing  that  Mrs.  Adams,  at  home  alone,  save  for  her  maids 

1  Diary,  31.   Ed.  Tudor.  2  Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution,  16.   Niles. 

3  Diary,  II,  229. 


230     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

and  a  boy,  might  become  alarmed,  he  turned  his  steps 
toward  her,  taking  Boylston  Alley  into  Brattle  Square. 
There  he  found  a  company  or  two  of  the  29th  regulars  drawn 
up  by  their  barracks  in  front  of  Dr.  Cooper's  church  with 
muskets  shouldered  and  bayonets  fixed.  There  was  only  a 
narrow  footway  left  for  passers-by,  which  he  traversed 
without  any  more  notice  being  taken  than  if  they  "had 
been  marble  statues,"  and  so  on  to  his  house  in  Cole  Lane 
(now  Portland  Street). 

Rumors  of  what  had  taken  place  spread  rapidly  abroad, 
and  Julia  Bernard1  tells  us  they  learned  at  Cherry  House 
one  morning  there  had  been  a  "general  rising"  on  the  sol 
diers'  part,  and  that  the  streets  "ran  with  blood."  When 
they  heard  Captain  Preston  was  lodged  in  gaol  they  were 
doubly  concerned,  as  he  was  a  personal  friend,  having  often 
performed  in  parlor  concerts  at  the  Province  House.  It 
was  long,  indeed,  that  night  before  the  streets  quieted  down. 
Spencer  Walker,  a  tailor,  going  home  alone  past  Murray's 
barracks,  was  attacked,  as  he  well  saw  from  the  bright 
moonlight,  by  a  man  of  middling  height  with  a  lusty  rough 
face,  "his  hair  curled  round  his  head."  Walker  supposed 
him  a  disguised  officer.  Rushing  from  the  gate,  past  two 
soldiers,  he  flourished  a  sword  and  collared  him,  demanding 
why  he  carried  a  stick.  The  tailor  declared  it  was  all  he 
had  for  self-defence.  The  officer  seized  it.  WTalker  re 
sisted,  but  with  three  tugs  it  was  taken  from  him.  A  woman 
and  another  officer  stood  in  the  front  door,  amused  spec 
tators.  Walker  asked  indignantly,  "Do  you  keep  soldiers 
to  disarm  people?"  Their  only  reply  was  a  laugh.  WThen 
the  tailor  continued,  "You  would  think  it  hard  if  a  soldier's 
gun  was  taken  as  he  went  to  relieve  sentry,"  there  was 
renewed  laughter.  Encouraged  by  this,  a  soldier  ran  up 
and  struck  him  with  his  gun  breech  on  the  hip,  and  he 
moved  on.  Next  day  he  recognized  the  person  carrying 
his  cane  as  a  commissioned  officer  of  the  29th. 

On  hearing  at  Mr.  Winniet's  in  New  Boston  how  dis- 

1  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  221.     Higgins. 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  231 

turbed  the  streets  were,  Joseph  Allen  started  home,  stop 
ping  on  the  way  at  Daniel  Rea's,  where  he  was  given  a 
stout  cudgel.  A  party  of  soldiers  were  drawn  up  at  Mur 
ray's  barracks  as  he  came  along.  He  and  Edward  Wins- 
low,  Jr.,  were  passing  quietly  on  when  overtaken  by  one 
of  them.  Allen  found  himself  collared,  his  shirt  torn,  his 
shoulders  drubbed,  and  his  stick  seized,  all  in  an  instant. 
Lieutenant  Minchin  here  came  striding  up,  and  Allen  made 
a  complaint.  The  officer  demurred  the  inhabitants  were 
always  wrangling  over  trifles.  Allen  answered  stoutly, 
"Could  a  man  be  inactive  when  his  countrymen  were 
butchered  in  the  street?"  The  lieutenant,  pleased  pos 
sibly  by  his  frankness,  handed  back  his  stick,  saying,  "Mr. 
Molineux  is  the  author  of  all  this."  A  remark  which  may 
or  may  not  throw  light  on  the  personality  of  the  man  in 
the  red  cloak  and  white  wig,  who  addressed  the  crowd 
just  before  it  centred  in  State  Street.  About  eleven  a 
messenger  sought  Dr.  Jeffries  to  come  to  Carr,  but  he  was 
still  engaged  with  Mr.  Payne.  About  midnight,  or  a  trifle 
after,  George  R.  T.  Hewes,  returning  from  his  house  to 
the  Town-house,  met  Sergeant  Chambers,  29th,  and  eight 
or  nine  soldiers.  One  of  them,  Dobson,  asked  Hewes 
how  he  fared;  who  answered:  Badly,  to  see  his  townsmen 
shot  in  such  a  manner.  Did  not  he  think  it  a  dreadful 
thing?  "By  —  it  was  a  fine  thing;  you  shall  see  more  of 
it,"  was  the  unfeeling  response.  Dobson  then  called  the 
sergeant's  attention  to  Hewes'  cane,  which  they  wrested 
away,  and  carried  to  the  Main  Guard,  despite  his  saying 
that  he  "had  as  much  right  to  carry  a  cane  as  they  to 
carry  clubs."  Between  eleven  and  twelve,  Edward  Crafts 
at  his  gate  was  met  by  Joseph  Ayers  on  the  way  to  Thomas 
Theodore  Bliss's,  as  both  were  to  give  evidence  in  the  Coun 
cil  Chamber  regarding  the  orders  to  fire.  Shortly  after 
leaving  Bliss's  with  Mr.  Haldan  in  their  company,  all  four 
were  met  by  two  corporals  and  about  twenty  soldiers  with 
fixed  bayonets,  —  probably  the  "picquet"  which  reached 
the  Main  Guard  about  midnight. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

The  soldiers,  on  starting  from  the  guard-house  by  the 
fortifications,  had  been  ordered  to  fire  if  assaulted,  and  their 
pieces  were  accordingly  loaded  with  a  brace  of  balls.  Seeing 
the  towners  move  towards  the  Town-house,  the  soldiers 
encircled  them,  and  one  cried,  "For  three  coppers  I'd  blow 
out  your  brains."  The  gentlemen  answered,  They  had 
nothing  to  say;  they  were  on  other  business.  Corporal 
Eustice  ordered  half  the  party,  notwithstanding,  to  cock 
and  the  rest  to  make  ready.  One  of  them  struck  Haldan, 
while  another  clubbed  his  gun  and  aimed  a  blow  at  Crafts' 
head,  which  he  warded  off  with  his  arm.  Reversing  his 
firelock,  the  soldier  then  made  a  fierce  lunge  at  Crafts  with 
his  bayonet,  which  he  again  parried  with  his  bare  hand. 
He  next  presented  his  piece  at  Crafts'  breast,  six  or  seven 
more  closing  in.  Luckily,  just  then  Crafts  recognized  the 
other  corporal  as  one  McCan,  and  cried  to  him  by  name, 
who  ran  up  directly  and  drove  the  soldiers  off,  saying,  "This 
is  Mr.  Crafts.  If  you  touch  him  I'll  blow  out  your  brains." 
Corporal  Eustice  sulked  at  the  turn  things  had  taken,  and 
went  off  murmuring,  "He  is  as  d —  a  rascal  as  any  of  them." 
Next  evening  Crafts  saw  McCan  at  Howe's  barracks,  and 
learned  that  the  corporal's  gun  had  been  broken.  He  could 
scarcely  believe  that  Crafts'  arm  was  whole.  Indeed, 
McCan  made  no  secret  of  his  peril,  telling  Crafts,  "You 
would  have  been  in  Heaven  or  Hell  in  an  instant  if  you  had 
not  called  me  by  name." 

In  the  above  story  reference  is  made  to  giving  evidence. 
Henry  Prentiss,  apprenticed  to  Mr.  Wendall,  writing  l  a 
couple  of  days  later  to  his  father,  a  minister  at  Holliston, 
says:  "The  Governor  &  Council  were  immediately  called 
together,  to  consider  what  was  necessary  to  be  done  at 
this  crisis.  The  first  step  was  to  send  for  Colo.  Dalrymple, 
who  came  in  a  few  minutes  after  he  was  sent  for,  he  told 
the  people,  that  he  had  served  his  Majesty  twenty  years 
and  never  had  seen  such  a  horrid  crime  before  and  was 

1  History  of  Middlesex  County,  I,  472-3.  "  Holliston."  Rev.  George  F. 
Walker.  Samuel  Adams  Drake.  Boston,  1880:  Estes  and  Lauriat. 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  233 

extreem  sorry  to  see  it  now,  he  further  said;  that  the  Inhab 
itants  should  have  all  possible  satisfaction  and  that  he  him 
self  wou'd  see  that  both  officers  and  soldiers  were  deliver'd 
into  the  hands  of  Justice;  upon  which  the  Summonds  was 
made  out  by  Justice  Dania  &  Tudor  against  the  Captn.  & 
deliver'd  to  the  Sheriff,  together  with  Colo.  Dalrymple's 
letter  to  Colo.  Carr,  in  which  Letter  he  order'd  the  Colo, 
to  see  that  the  said  Capn.  Preston  was  deliver'd  into  the 
hands  of  the  Sheriff  immediately."  To  continue  from 
Deacon  Tudor 's  account:  x  "He  came  under  Examination 
about  2  O'Clock  and  we  sent  him  to  Goal  soon  after  3, 
having  Evidence  sufficient,  to  committ  him,  on  his  order 
ing  the  soldiers  to  fire."  Happily  for  the  town  the  tumult 
was  at  once  stayed  through  the  Lieutenant- Governor's 
prompt  action  in  placing  Preston  under  arrest.  In  mak 
ing  his  report  to  Lord  Hillsborough,  Hutchinson  states:2 
Expresses  had  gone  "out  to  the  neighboring  towns,  and 
the  inhabitants  were  called  out  of  their  beds,  many  of 
whom  armed  themselves,  but  were  stopped  from  coming  into 
town  by  advice  that  there  was  no  further  danger  that  night. 
A  barrel  of  tar  which  was  carrying  to  the  Beacon  to  set  on 
fire  was  also  sent  back."  The  beacon  here  referred  3  to 
stood  on  the  easterly  slope  of  Beacon  Hill,  then  rising  at 
its  original  elevation  some  two  hundred  feet  above  the  town. 
It  consisted  of  a  tall  pole  and  a  crane  sixty-five  feet  from 
the  base,  supporting  an  iron  frame  into  whose  socket  a 
blazing  tar  barrel  could  be  set. 

The  evening  had  been  spent  by  Thomas  Jackson  and 
Captain  Riordan  at  the  British  Coffee-house.  While 
there,  they  heard  Mr.  Wells,  master  of  the  Rose,  man-o'- 
war,  say  he  had  sent  one  boat  ashore  after  another  for 
orders,  and  their  not  bringing  any  back  he  finally  came 
himself.  Every  boat  was  in  readiness,  even  to  the  barges 
which  had  been  laid  up  all  winter.  Wells  bragged  he  had 
done  more  than  he  had  ever  done  in  his  life,  pointing  to 

1  Diary,  32.     Ed.  Tudor.  2  Life  of  Hutchinson,  159-60.     Hosmer. 

3  Landmarks,  349.     Drake. 


234    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

his  hat  as  he  spoke,  from  which  he  had  removed  the  cock 
ade.  He  appeared  to  have  something  like  arms  under  his 
coat,  which  he  said  were  "good  stuff."  Next  morning 
some  seamen  from  the  Rose  came  to  Wm.  Rhodes'  shop 
and  were  asked  if  they  had  heard  the  news.  "Oh,  yes," 
said  they,  adding  all  their  boats  were  ashore  and  most  of 
the  crew  had  been  kept  up  all  night.  When  questioned 
further,  they  explained  they  had  not  stood  at  their  quar 
ters  nor  had  their  guns  been  loaded,  and  that  the  master, 
only,  carried  arms  and  he  had  left  his  pistols  at  the  wharf 
with  the  cockswain  of  the  barge. 

Thomas  Greenwood  went  the  same  evening  to  Commis 
sioner  Burch's,  where  he  saw  him  and  his  wife,  Mr.  Com 
missioner  Paxton,  and  Mr.  Richard  Reeves,  the  secretary, 
and  told  them  that  the  soldiers  had  fired  with  fatal  results 
on  the  people.  Hearing  which,  Reeves  exclaimed,  "God 
bless  my  soul!"  and  left  the  room.  Greenwood,  who,  in 
company  with  the  other  Custom-house  tenants,  seemed 
very  much  in  the  confidence  of  the  soldiery,  then  went  on 
to  the  barracks  at  Wheelwright's  Wharf,  where  he  slept  the 
night.  He  heard  the  men  there  say  they  wished  they  could 
be  let  out,  for  if  tljey  were,  there  would  not  be  many  people 
alive  in  the  morning.  March  6th,  John  Rowe  writes:  1 
"The  inhabitants  are  greatly  enraged  and  not  without 
reason.  Most  all  the  town  in  uproar  and  confusion." 
Early  in  the  forenoon  the  eight  soldiers  concerned  in  the 
firing  were  also  sent  to  gaol.  Then  while  the  crier  went 
about  to  warn  a  town  meeting  for  eleven  o'clock  at  Faneuil 
Hall,  the  Governor  called  his  Council.  There  were2  present 
Samuel  Danforth,  Harrison  Gray,  Royal  Tyler,  John 
Erving,  Esq.,  James  Russell,  Esq.,  James  Pitts,  Esq., 
Thomas  Hubbard,  and  Samuel  Dexter.  These  gentlemen 
suggested  the  propriety  of  desiring  the  presence  of  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Dalrymple,  the  commanding  officer,  and 

1  Diary. 

2  Provincial  Pictures  by  Brush  and  Pen,  28-30.     Daniel  Goodwin,  Jr.     Pro 
ceedings  Bostonian  Society.     Chicago,  1886:  Fergus  Printing  Company. 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  235 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Carr  of  the  29th;  and  a  message  was 
despatched  praying  them  to  attend.  When  they  were  come 
Tyler,  Pitts,  and  Dexter  spoke  with  great  earnestness  of 
the  heavy  responsibility  of  continuing  the  troops  in  the 
body  of  the  town.  "The  people  are  determined,"  Tyler  l 
assured  the  Governor,  "to  remove  the  troops  out  of  the 
town  by  force,  if  they  will  not  go  voluntarily.  They  are 
not  such  people  as  formerly  pulled  down  your  house  that 
conduct  these  measures,  but  men  of  estates  —  men  of  relig 
ion.  The  people  will  come  in  to  us  from  all  the  neighbor 
ing  towns;  we  shall  have  ten  thousand  men  at  our  backs, 
and  your  troops  will  probably  be  destroyed  by  the  people, 
be  it  called  rebellion  or  what  it  may."  Hutchinson 
answered1  gravely,  "An  attack  on  the  King's  troops  would 
be  high  treason,  and  every  man  concerned  in  it  would  for 
feit  his  life  and  estate."  Affected  by  what  they  heard, 
Dalrymple  here  interposed  and  signified  that  he  was  pre 
pared  to  send  the  offending  regiment,  the  29th,  to  the 
Castle,  confine  the  14th  to  its  barracks,  and  discontinue 
the  Main  Guard  and  all  parades,  pending  orders  from 
General  Gage.2  At  this  stage  of  the  debate  "a  respectable 
committee"  of  fifteen,2  Thomas  Cushing,  John  Hancock, 
Joshua  Henshaw,  Sam  Adams,  W.  Henderson  Inches, 
Samuel  Pemberton,  Dr.  Benjamin  Church,  John  Ruddock, 
William  Phillips,  Ezekiel  Goldthwait,  Benj.  Austin,  Sam 
uel  Austin,  William  Molineux,  Jonathan  Mason,  and  Joseph 
Jackson,  waited  on  the  Governor  to  desire  the  troops  might 
be  removed.  After  conferring  with  the  officers,  Hutchinson 
announced  their  decision  as  aforesaid.  The  inhabitants 
had  adjourned  at  noon  to  the  Old  South  Church^  (still 
standing  on  the  corner  of  Milk  and  Washington  Streets), 
since  it  could  hold  more  people.  Now  as  the  committee 
passed  out  of  the  south  door  of  the  Town-house  and  turned 
in  that  direction,  the  crowd  thronging  the  Main  Street 
cried,  "Make  way  for  the  Committee,"  and  parted  right 

1  Our  Country,  II,  685.     Lossing. 

2  Provincial  Pictures,  29-30.     Goodwin. 


236    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

and  left  to  let  them  through.  As  they  went  forward,  it 
is  said,  Sam  Adams,  with  bared  head  and  with  gray  locks, 
although  he  was  but  forty-eight,  bowed  on  one  side  and  the 
other,  and  repeated  the  words:  1  "Both  regiments  or  none! 
Both  regiments  or  none!"  So  that  when  the  answer  of  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  was  given  to  the  meeting  in  the  church, 
there  went  up  from  a  thousand  tongues  in  the  excited 
assembly:  "Both  regiments  or  none!  Both  regiments  or 
none!" 

After  some  debate  the  town  unanimously  (4,000  plus 
only  one  dissentient)  voted : 2  Not  to  accept  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor's  proposals,  but  choose  another  Committee  of 
seven  —  viz.,  Sam'l  Adams,  chairman,  Dr.  Warren,  John 
Hancock,  Joshua  Henshaw,  Samuel  Pemberton,  William 
Phillips,  and  William  Molineux  —  to  wait  on  him  again 
and  insist  on  all  the  troops  being  removed  from  the  town, 
and  "without  this  is  complyed  with,  (to  follow  Rowe  once 
more)3  it  would  not  be  satisfactory  to  the  inhabitants." 
Hutchinson  wrote  to  Sir  Francis  Bernard4  that  he  wished 
to  have  been  "clear  of  the  Council  in  the  afternoon,  but 
it  was  not  possible."  The  present  Old  State  House,  the 
scene  of  all  this,  was  built  1748-49.  On  the  second  floor, 
the  east  room  was  used  as  Council  Chamber,  the  west  as 
a  Court  Chamber,  and  the  Representatives'  Chamber  came 
between  them.  Overhead  were  town  officers'  rooms,  the 
whole  resting  on  ten  Doric  columns  in  these  days,5  with 
doors  at  either  end,  open  for  thoroughfare  during  the  day 
time.  The  Council  Chamber  was  furnished  with  a  large 
table  and  chair  and  one  or  more  glassed  bookcases.  The 
Royal  Arms  (since  carried  off  and  set  on  a  church  at  St. 
John,  New  Brunswick)  were  conspicuous.  The  Represent 
atives'  Chamber  had  a  painting  of  Admiral  Russell  (who 

1  Life  of  Sam1.  Adams,  50.     Fallows, 

2  War  in  America,  226.     Murray. 

3  Diary. 

4  Provincial  Pictures,  28.     Goodwin. 

5  Re-dedication  of  the  Old  State  House,  Boston,  July  11,  1882,  215,  218-19. 
Boston,  1889.     Printed  by  Order  of  the  City  Council. 


SAMUEL  ADAMS 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  237 

won  the  victory  at  La  Hogue)  between  the  windows,  over 
the  Speaker's  chair  on  the  south  side;  before  him  stood 
a  table  and  the  clerk's  place,  filled  by  Sam'l  Adams,  the 
"Boston  Seat"  of  four  members  probably  facing  it. 
Directly  over  the  table  was  fixed  a  brass  branch  of  candle 
sticks,  gift  of  Isaac  Royal,  and  the  ancient  arms  of  the 
Province,  carved  and  gilded,  stood  over  the  door.  A 
carved  wooden  cod-fish,  emblem  of  the  staple  of  commodi 
ties,  hung  from  the  middle  of  the  ceiling.  It  was  not  until 
three  years  later,  in  1773,  that  the  members'  wooden 
benches  were  cushioned.  Since  1766  the  House  had 
debated  with  open  doors,  a  gallery  for  visitors  being 
provided  on  the  westerly  side. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  second  deputation  1  Prentiss 
tells  us  "the  Governor  said  he  could  not  give  an  immediate 
Answer,  the  Committee  reply'd  that  they  would  retire  into 
the  other  room  till  his  Honor  was  ready.  After  waiting 
some  time  he  call'd  them  in  &  gave  them  his  answer  in 
writing,  the  purport  of  which  was  that  he  had  persuaded 
the  Commanding  Officer  to  send  both  Regiments  to  the 
Castle  with  all  possible  speed,  this  was  voted  Satisfactory 
to  the  inhabitants  who  were  then  assembled,  I  suppose  at 
least  3,000  in  the  Old  South  meeting-house  —  after  three 
huzzas,  the  meeting  was  dissolved,"  amidst  the  joyful 
ringing2  of  the  old  meeting-house  bell  overhead.  Prentiss 
closes  enthusiastically,  "the  transactions  of  the  6th  of 
March,  1770,  will  shine  bright  in  the  Annals  of  America  to 
the  last  ages  of  time." 

John  Adams  has  pictured3  the  Council  Board  as  he  saw 
it  on  this  eventful  day:  " Eight-and-twenty  Counsellors," 
says  he,  "must  be  painted,  all  seated  at  the  council  Board. 
Let  me  see  —  what  costume?  What  was  the  fashion  of 
that  day  in  the  month  of  March?  Large  white  wigs, 
English  scarlet  cloth  cloaks,  some  of  them  with  gold-laced 

1  History  of  Middlesex  County,  I,  472-3.     Drake. 

2  Our  Country,  II,  68G.     Lossing. 

3  John  Adams,  Life  and  Works,  X,  249-50. 


238     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

hats,  not  on  their  heads,  .  .  .  but  on  the  table  before  them, 
or  under  the  table  beneath  them." 

On  the  walls  hung  "glorious"  portraits  of  King  Charles 
II.,  King  James  II.,  and  George  II.1  at  full  length,  together 
with  more  Provincial  likenesses  of  Governors  Winthrop, 
Endicott,  Leverett,  Bradstreet,  Burnett,  Belcher,  and 
Pownall.  Lieutenant-Governor  Hutchinson,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Dalrymple,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carr,  and  the  com 
mander  of  the  Rose  frigate,  Captain  Caldwell,  occupied 
the  seats  of  honor.  Samuel  Adams  himself  probably  wore 
his  "customary  suit  of  reddish  brown,  with  hair  slightly 
powdered." 

With  much  vividness  John  Adams  relates  2  how  "The 
heads  of  Hutchinson  and  Dalrymple  were  laid  together  in 
whispers  for  a  long  time;  when  the  whispering  ceased,  a 
long  and  solemn  pause  ensued,  extremely  painful  to  an 
impatient,  expecting  audience.  Hutchinson,  in  time,  broke 
silence;  he  had  consulted  with  Colo.  Dalrymple,  and  the  Colo, 
had  authorized  him  to  say  that  he  might  order  one  regi 
ment  down  to  the  castle,  if  that  would  satisfy  the  people. 
With  a  self-recollection,  a  self-possession,  a  self-command, 
a  presence  of  mind  that  was  admired  by  every  man  present, 
Samuel  Adams  arose  with  an  air  of  dignity  and  majesty, 
of  which  he  was  sometimes  capable;  stretched  forth  his  arm, 
though  even  then  quivering  with  palsey,  and  with  an  har 
monious  voice  and  decisive  tone  said:  'If  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  or  Colonel  Dalrymple,  or  both  together,  have 
authority  to  remove  one  regiment,  they  have  authority  to 
remove  two,  and  nothing  short  of  the  total  evacuation 
of  the  town  by  all  the  regular  troops  will  satisfy  the 
public  mind  or  preserve  the  peace  of  the  Province.  A 
multitude,  highly  incensed,  now  await  the  result  of  this 
application.  The  voice  of  ten  thousand  free  men  demands 
that  both  regiments  be  forthwith  removed.  Their  voice 
must  be  respected,  their  demand  obeyed.  Fail,  then,  at 

1  Old  State  House  Re-dedication,  218. 

2  Life  and  Works,  X,  352,  and  Historic  Pilgrimages  in  N.  E.,  301.     Bacon. 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  239 

your  peril  to  comply  with  this  requisition:  on  you  alone 
rests  the  responsibility  of  this  decision;  and  if  the  just  expec 
tations  of  the  people  are  disappointed,  you  must  be  answer 
able  to  God  and  your  country  for  the  fatal  consequences 
that  must  ensue.  The  Committee  have  discharged  their 
duty,  and  it  is  for  you  to  discharge  yours.  They  wait 
upon  your  final  determination.' '  Adams  continues:  "These 
few  words  thrilled  the  veins  of  every  man  in  the  audience, 
and  produced  the  great  result.  After  a  little  awkward 
hesitation  it  was  agreed  that  the  town  should  be  evacu 
ated  and  both  regiments  sent  to  the  Castle."  Hutchinson 
might  even  then  have  withheld  his  assent,  through  fear 
of  ministerial  displeasure,  had  not  his  Secretary,  Oliver, 
whispered  x  in  his  ear,  "You  must  comply  or  leave  the 
Province."  Sam  Adams  in  after  years,  speaking  of  him, 
said  to  James  Warren,  "I  observed  his  knees  to  tremble. 
I  thought  I  saw  his  face  grow  pale,  and  I  enjoyed  the  sight." 
The  statue  by  Miss  Anne  Whitney  in  Adams  Square  illus 
trates  this  fateful  pause.  A  monument  to  Attucks  by  Kraus 
has  been  set  up  on  the  Common  a  little  below  West  Street. 
The  Gazeteer  of  the  12th  says:  "Tuesday  A.M.  presented  a 
most  shocking  scene,  the  blood  of  our  fellow-citizens  run 
ning  like  water  through  King  Street  and  the  Merchants 
Exchange.  Our  blood  might  also  be  tracked  up  to  the  head 
of  Long  Lane  [Federal  Street],  and  through  divers  other 
streets  and  passages."  The  late  Colonel  Thomas  Handasyd 
Perkins  of  Brookline,  then  a  child  of  five  years,  living  close 
by,  was  taken  2  to  see  the  body  of  one  of  the  slain  at  the 
Exchange  Tavern,  and  used  to  say  he  should  never  forget 
the  look  of  the  frozen  blood  in  the  street.  Joseph  Cross- 
well  and  James  Carter  saw  some  blood  dried  five  or  six 
inches  high  on  Killroy's  bayonet,  and  Samuel  Hernmingway 
recalled  that  in  talking  over  the  inhabitants'  differences 
with  the  soldiers,  a  week  or  two  before,  Killroy  had  said  he 

1  American  Revolution,  I,  289.     Gordon. 

2  Memoir  of  Thomas  Handasyd  Perkins,  7.     Thomas  G.  Gary.     Boston,  1856: 
Little,  Brown  and  Company. 


240     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

never  should  miss  an  opportunity  to  fire  on  the  people  and 
that  he  had  wanted  to  have  a  chance  ever  since  he  landed. 
Mrs.  Bouker,  Mr.  Apthorp's  housekeeper,  and  the  negro 
boy  were  present  at  the  time.  Hemmingway  told  Killroy 
he  was  a  fool  to  talk  so,  who  said  he  did  not  care.  When 
Dr.  Jeffries  got  to  Carr's  bedside  during  the  day,  he  found 
it  was  not  his  first  experience  of  a  mob.  Carr  had  often  seen 
soldiers  handle  them  in  Ireland,  showing  much  less  patience. 
The  doctor  advised  him  never  to  go  to  a  riot  again,  and 
Carr  said  he  was  sorry  he  had  ever  been.  Dr.  Jeffries  and  Dr. 
Lloyd  then  dressed  his  wound  and  left  him  as  comfortable 
as  they  could.  Ten  days  later  he  died.  It  is  interesting  to 
recall  that  Dr.  John  Jeffries  had  his  degree  from  Aberdeen 
University  and  that  Dr.  James  Lloyd  was  a  pupil  of  Dr. 
William  Hunter  and  Dr.  Joseph  Warner,  chief  surgeon  of 
Guy's  Hospital,  London. l 

The  excitement  into  wrhich  the  town  had  been  thrown 
appears  in  the  records  of  the  meeting  held  on  the  6th  at 
Faneuil  Hall.  After  an  opening  prayer  2  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Cooper,  Mr.  John  Singleton  Copley  gave  information  that 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pelham  and  some  of  Mr.  Samuel  W7enthrop's 
family  had  heard  a  soldier  say,  The  Devil  might  give  quar 
ter;  he  should  give  them  none.  Mr.  Pool  Spear  also  reported 
that  last  week  Kilson  of  Pharras  company  said  he  didn't 
know  what  the  inhabitants  were  after,  breaking  an  officer's 
window  (i.e. 9  Nat  Rogers') ;  but  that  they  had  a  scheme  on 
foot,  they  meant  to  carry  pistols  in  their  pocket,  and  if 
more  windows  were  broke,  were  to  get  £10  for  each  man 
killed  and  £50  for  every  prisoner.  Mr.  John  Scott  men 
tioned  that  one  of  Mr.  Pierpont's  lads,  being  at  Mr.  Char- 
don's,  heard  a  soldier  say  his  officer  told  them  if  they  went 
out  at  night  to  go  armed  in  squads.  At  the  afternoon  meet 
ing  in  the  Old  South  it  was  voted  that  the  town  regarded  with 
the  "greatest  abhorrence"  that  Samuel  Waterhouse  should 
accommodate  troops  "in  defiance  of  the  united  sentiments 

1  Boston  Herald,  April  30,  1899. 

2  Boston  Town  Records,  1770-7,  1,  2,  4. 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  241 

of  his  fellow  citizens"  and  lower  "a  once  respectable  Man 
sion  House  to  the  use  of  a  Main  Guard."  The  Boston 
Gazette  of  March  12th,  announcing  the  Massacre,  had  four 
coffins  with  skull  and  cross-bones  above  the  names  of  the 
dead,  and  over  young  Maverick's,  in  addition,  an  hour 
glass,  scythe,  and  "  M  17." 

There  was  a  military  watch  set  on  the  7th  to  prevent  a 
rescue  of  the  prisoners,  and  between  four  and  five  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  day  following,  Thursday,  Gray,  Maverick, 
Caldwell,  and  Attucks  were  buried.  "On  this  sorrowfull 
Occasion,"  says  Deacon  Tudor,1  "most  of  the  shops  &  stores 
in  Town  were  shut,  all  the  Bells  were  order'd  to  toll  a  solom 
peal  in  Boston,  Charleston,  Cambridge  &  Roxbery.  The 
several  Hearses  forming  a  junction  in  King  Street,  the 
Theatre  of  that  inhuman  Tragedy,  proceeded  from  thence 
through  the  Main  Street,  lengthened  by  an  immense  Con 
course  of  people,  So  numerous  as  to  be  obliged  to  follow 
in  Ranks  of  4  &  6  abreast  and  brought  up  by  a  long  train 
of  Carriages."  Prentiss  adds,  "Gray's  'corpse  went  first 
then  his  Relations,  then  Covil  and  his  Relations,  then 
Maverick  and  his  Relations  &  then  Jackson  (Attucks), 
and  after  Jackson  the  inhabitants."  "The  sorrow  Visible 
in  the  Countenances,"  continues  Rowe,  "together  with  the 
peculiar  solemnity,  Surpass  description,  it  was  suppos'd 
that  the  Spectators  &  those  that  follow'd  the  corps  amounted 
to  15,000,  som  suppos'd  20,000."  They  were  buried  in  a 
vault  in  the  extreme  northeast  corner  of  the  Old  Granary 
bury  ing-ground  on  Tremont  Street;  "all  in  one  grave,"  so 
Prentiss  tells  us,  "and  young  Snider  dug  up  &  put  with 
them."  A  recently  placed  stone  marks  the  spot.  Parson 
Byles  of  the  Hollis  Street  church  seems  to  have  been  some 
what  differently  impressed,2  as  he  stood  on  the  corner 
of  School  and  Washington  Streets  to  watch  the  pro 
cession.  It  seemed  to  him  made  up  largely  of  men 

1  Diary,  34.     Ed.  Tudor. 

2  "Nathaniel  Emmons  and  Mather  Byles."      James  R.  Gilmore.      New  Eng 
land  Magazine,  August,  1897. 


242     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

from  "the  wharf  ends,"  and  turning  to  his  companion, 
Dr.  Emmons,  he  remarked  dryly,  "They  call  me  a  brain 
less  Tory;  but  tell  me,  my  young  friend,  which  is  better 
-  to  be  ruled  by  one  tyrant  3,000  miles  away,  or  by  3,000 
tyrants  not  a  mile  away?"  Early  in  Preston's  imprison 
ment  Robert  Goddard  had  visited  the  gaol  and  identified 
him  as  the  officer  in  command.  "Don't  say  so,"  exclaimed 
the  young  officer.  "Yes,  sir,"  persisted  Goddard,  "you 
look  very  much  like  the  man."  Hearing  this,  Preston 
clapped  his  hands  together  and  cried,  "If  you  say  so,  I  am 
ruined  and  undone." 

The  Monday  following  the  Massacre  James  Murray  1 
writes  rather  drearily  to  his  sister,  the  Widow  Smith,  con 
gratulating  her  on  her  absence  and  expressing  his  fears  for 
Preston.  "There  will  be  little  Chance  for  him  and  his 
Men,"  he  writes,  "with  enraged  prejudiced  Juries.  The 
King's  Mercy  must  be  their  only  hope.  .  .  .  Your  Barrack 
is  clear,  but  not  yet  given  up.  ...  Mr.  Comm'r  Robin 
son,  who  carries  this,  goes  home  to  represent  all  these  things 
in  their  proper  light."  From  the  Boston  Evening  Post 2 
we  find  that  Robinson  sailed  the  16th,  to  convince  the 
authorities  that  the  Massacre  grew  out  of  an  attempt  on 
the  treasure  at  the  Custom-house.  No  wonder,  writh  such 
opposite  views  abroad,  the  Rev.  George  Whitfield  should 
write,  September,  1770,  "Poor  New  England  is  much  to  be 
pitied,  Boston  most  of  all.  How  falsely  represented." 

In  reality  the  town  shrank  from  the  least  appearance 
of  partiality,  and  John  Adams  and  Josiah  Quincy  consented 
to  appear  for  the  defence  with  Robert  Auchmuty,  Captain 
Preston's  personal  counsel.  Indeed,  the  captain  was  so 
sensible  of  the  fair  play  shown  toward  him,  that  he  wrote  3 
gratefully  from  the 
"Boston  Gaol,  Monday,  12th  March,  1770. 

Messieurs  Edes  and  Gill — Permit  me  through  the  Chan 
nel  of  your  paper,  to  return  my  Thanks  in  a  most  Public 

1  James  Murray,  162.     Ed.  Tiffany.  2  March  19,  1770. 

8  Boston  Gazette,  March  12,  1770. 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  243 

manner  to  the  Inhabitants  in  General  of  this  Town  —  who 
throwing  aside  all  Party  and  Prejudice,  have  with  the 
utmost  Humanity  and  Freedom  stept  forth  Advocates  for 
Truth,  in  Defence  of  my  injured  Innocence  in  the  late 
unhappy  Affair  that  happened  on  Monday  Night  last,  and 
I  assure  them,  that  I  shall  ever  have  the  highest  sense  of 
Justice  they  have  done  me,  which  will  be  ever  gratefully 
remembered  by  their  much  obliged  and  most  obedient 

humble  Servant,  ^  ,, 

THOMAS  PRESTON. 

That  this  action  on  the  part  of  Adams  and  Quincy 
represented  no  small  sacrifice  is  attested  by  the  following 
correspondence  between  Mr.  Quincy  and  his  son.1  "I 
have  been  told,"  the  old  gentleman  writes,  "that  you  have 
actually  engaged  for  Captain  Preston;  and  I  have  heard 
the  severest  reflections  made  upon  the  occasion  by  men  who 
had  just  before  manifested  the  highest  esteem  for  you,  as 
one  destined  to  be  a  savior  of  your  country.  I  must  own 
to  you  it  has  filled  the  bosom  of  your  aged  -and  infirm  parent 
with  anxiety  and  distress,  lest  it  should  not  only  prove  true, 
but  destructive  of  your  reputation  and  interest;  and,  I 
repeat,  I  will  not  believe  it  unless  it  be  confirmed  by  your 
own  mouth,  or  under  your  own  hand.  .  .  . 

Your  anxious  and  distressed  parent, 

JOSIAH  QUINCY." 

Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  in  reply,  writes,  regarding  his  ac 
cusers:  "Let  such  be  told,  Sir,  that  those  criminals,  charged 
with  murder,  are  not  yet  legally  proved  guilty,  and  there 
fore,  however  criminal,  are  entitled  by  the  laws  of  God 
and  man  to  all  legal  counsel  and  aid;  that  my  duty  as  a 
man  obliged  me  to  undertake;  that  my  duty  as  a  lawyer 
strengthened  the  obligation;  that,  from  abundant  caution,  I 
at  first  declined  being  engaged;  that,  after  the  best  advice  and 
most  mature  deliberation  had  determined  my  judgment, 
I  waited  on  Captain  Preston  and  told  him  that  I  would 

1  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  IV,  583-4. 


244     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

afford  him  my  assistance;  but  prior  to  this,  in  presence  of 
two  of  his  friends,  I  made  the  most  explicit  declaration  to 
him  of  my  real  opinion  on  the  contests  (as  I  expressed 
it  to  him)  of  the  times,  and  that  my  heart  and  hand 
were  indissolubly  attached  to  the  cause  of  my  country;  and 
finally,  that  I  refused  all  engagement  until  advised  and  urged 
to  undertake  it  by  an  Adams,  a  Hancock,  a  Molineux,  a 
Gushing,  a  Henshaw,  a  Pemberton,  a  Warren,  a  Cooper,  and 
a  Phillips.  This  and  much  more  might  be  told  with  great 
truth;  and  I  dare  affirm  that  you  and  the  whole  people  will 
one  day  rejoice  that  I  became  an  advocate  for  the  aforesaid 
criminals,  charged  with  the  murder  of  our  fellow  citizens." 

On  Friday,  the  9th,  Ephraim  Fenno,  going  home  by  the 
hospital  in  the  Common,  saw  Dr.  Hall  looking  from  the 
window,  who  hailed  him,  "Dirty  travelling,  neighbor," 
adding,  "What  news  in  town?"  Fenno  replied,  "Nothing 
but  you  already  know;  the  talk  is  about  the  people  that 
were  murdered."  He  continued,  "Are  not  the  people  of 
the  town  easier?"  Fenno  answered  he  believed  not,  nor 
would  be  'til  all  the  soldiers  had  left  the  town.  The  doc 
tor  next  asked  if  Fenno  had  heard  whether  the  14th  was 
going.  "Yes,  for  the  people  will  not  be  quiet  'til  all  are 
gone."  Hearing  this  the  surgeon  remarked:  "The  Towns 
people  have  always  used  the  soldiers  ill  which  occasioned 
this  affair.  I  wish  instead  of  killing  five  or  six,  they  had 
killed  five  hundred,  d —  me,  if  I  don't."  That  day  or  the 
next  David  Loring,  who  made  shoes  for  the  14th,  being  at 
their  woody ard,  said  to  Sergeant  Whittey  he  believed  the 
Massacre  would  never  have  happened  if  the  14th  had  been 
on  guard;  he  never  had  liked  the  29th.  The  sergeant  asking 
him,  "Why?"  he  explained  they  seemed  a  bloodthirsty  set 
of  men,  and  supposed  the  affair  had  grown  out  of  their 
rope  walk  quarrel.  John  Dudley,  29th,  who  was  by,  said,  on 
the  contrary,  it  had  been  plotted  a  month  before. 

It  must  have  given  Rowe  uncommon  satisfaction  to 
scribble  in  his  diary  on  the  10th:  "Yesterday  two  Companies 
of  the  29th  went  to  the  Castle  and  four  companies  more 


JOSIAH  QUINCY,  JR. 


BOSTON  MASSACRE  245 

went  this  day;  still  a  military  watch.  March  12th.,  The 
remainder  of  the  29th  went  to  the  Castle  this  day;  still  a 
military  watch.  March  16th.,  Mr.  Otis  got  in  a  mad  freak 
to-night,  and  broke  a  great  many  windows  in  the  Town 
house.  All  the  14th  Regiment  are  gone  to  the  Castle,  the 
last  of  them  this  day." 

When  the  troops  left  for  the  wharf,  Wm.  Molineux, *  one 
of  the  committee  who  asked  that  they  might  be  removed, 
walked  by  their  side  to  see  that  they  met  with  no  offence. 
From  that  day  to  this  the  14th  and  29th  foot  have  gone 
locally  by  the  name  of  "Sam  Adams'  Regiments."  A 
so-called  "Castle  Island  Song"  runs:2 

You  simple  Bostonians,  I'd  have  you  beware, 
Of  your  liberty  Tree,  I  would  have  you  take  care, 
For  if  that  we  chance  to  return  to  the  town, 
Your  houses  and  stores  will  come  tumbling  down, 
Derry  down,  down,  hey,  deny  down. 

If  you  will  not  agree  to  Old  England's  laws, 
I  fear  that  King  Hancock  will  soon  get  the  yaws: 
But  he  need  not  fear,  for  I  swear  we  will, 
For  the  want  of  a  doctor,  give  him  a  hard  pill. 

A  brave  re-inforcement  we  soon  think  to  get; 
Then  we  will  make  you,  poor  pumpkins,  to  sweat; 
Our  drums  they  '11  rattle,  and  then  you  will  run 
To  the  devil  himself,  from  the  sight  of  a  gun. 

Our  fleet  and  our  army,  they  soon  will  arrive, 

Then  to  a  bleak  island,  you  shall  not  us  drive. 

In  every  house,  you  shall  have  three  or  four, 

And  if  that  will  not  please  you,  you  shall  have  half  a  score. 

Derry  down,  down,  hey,  derry  down. 

The  5th  of  March  prompted  Revere's  engraving  entitled 
"The  Fruits  of  Arbitrary  Power  or  the  Bloody  Massacre, 
Perpetrated  in  King  Street,  Boston,  by  a  party  of  the 
XXIXth  Regt."  Below  are  the  lines:  3 

1  John  Adams  Life  and  Works,  X,  252.  2  Scribner,  September,  1891. 

3  Life  of  Revere,  71-2.     Goss. 


246     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Unhappy  BOSTON!   see  thy  Sons  deplore, 
Thy  hallowed  Walks  besmear'd  with  guiltless  Gore: 
While  faithless  P — n  and  his  savage  Bands, 
With  murd'rous  Rancour  stretch  their  bloody  Hands; 
Like  fierce  Barbarians  grinning  o'er  their  Prey, 
Approve  the  Carnage  and  enjoy  the  Day. 
If  scalding  drops  from  Rage  from  Anguish  Wrung, 
If  speechless  Sorrows  lab'ring  for  a  Tongue, 
Or  if  a  weeping  World  can  aught  appease 
The  plaintive  Ghosts  of  Victims  such  as  these, 
The  Patriots'  copious  Tears  for  each  are  shed, 
A  glorious  Tribute  which  embalms  the  Dead. 
But  know,  FATE  summons  to  that  sordid  Goal 
Where  JUSTICE  strips  the  Murd'rer  of  his  soul. 
Should  venal  C — ts  the  scandal  of  the  Land, 
Snatch  the  relentless  Villain  from  her  Hand, 
Keen  Execrations  on  this  Plate  inscrib'd, 
Shall  reach  a  JUDGE  who  never  can  be  brib'd. 

A  cut  on  the  left  showed  a  death's  head  and  cross-bones, 
surrounded  by  a  wreath,  and  beneath  it  the  text:  "How  long 
shall  they  utter  and  speak  hard  things?  and  all  the  workers 
of  iniquity  boast  themselves?  They  break  in  pieces  thy  peo 
ple,  O  Lord,  and  afflict  thine  heritage."  Ps.  xciv4,  5.  On 
the  opposite  side  was  a  picture  of  two  broken  swords,  and  the 
following  text:  "They  slay  the  widow  and  the  stranger,  ani 
murder  the  fatherless.  Yet  they  say,  the  Lord  shall  not  see, 
neither  shall  the  God  of  Jacob  regard  it."  Ps.  xciv  6,  7. 
This  picture  is  so  prized,  an  original  impression  in  colors  was 
sold  at  Libbie's  in  1901  for  no  less  than  eight  hundred  dollars. 
Wishing  to  correct  Commissioner  Robinson's  statements, 
Captain  Samuel  Dashwood  volunteered  to  carry  despatches 
by  a  fishing  schooner  to  London  without  fee.  On  the  16th, 
17th,  and  19th,  depositions  were  taken,  and  James  Bowdoin, 
Samuel  Pemberton,  and  Dr.  Warren  were  chosen  to  pre 
pare  a  report  to  the  Duke  of  Richmond.  At  a  subsequent 
meeting  thanks  were  made  to  Captain  Dashwood1  for  his 
generous  offer,  but  it  was  felt  that  Captain  Gardner,  whose 
schooner  could  be  hired  for  £120,  would  answer  every  pur 
pose  as  messenger. 

1  Town  Records,  1770-7,  15,  17. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PRESTON'S  TRIAL.    THE  GASPEE  INCIDENT.    COMMITTEES 
OF  SAFETY  FORMED 

IN  the  meantime,  with  the  troops'  departure  there  was  a 
general  scattering  on  the  part  of  the  commissioners. 
Robinson  left  for  England,  Paxton  retired  to  Cambridge, 
Burch  took  his  wife  to  Brookline l  and,  leaving  her  with  Mrs. 
Hulton,  accompanied  Mr.  Hulton  to  Portsmouth.  The 
meetings  of  the  board  which  had  been  held  four  days  in  a 
week  since  November,  1768,  were  quite  broken  up  for  the 
moment.  March  13th  a  committee  of  five  was  chosen  by 
the  Boston  town  meeting  to  wait  on  the  tea  dealers  and 
desire  them  to  make  no  sales  until  the  tax  was  repealed. 
As  a  result,  in  about  a  week  212  signatures  were  received. 
It  was  also  "SOLEMNLY  VOTED"  that2  there  should  be 
"entered  on  the  Town  Records  the  Names  of  those  Persons, 
few  indeed,  to  the  Honor  of  the  Town,  who  were  so  lost  to 
the  feelings  of  Patriotism  and  the  common  Interest,  and  so 
thoroughly  and  infamously  selfish"  as  to  continue  import 
ing,  "that  Posterity  may  know  who  those  Persons  were 
that  preferred  their  little  private  Advantage  to  the  Common 
Interest  of  all  the  Colonies,"  viz.,  John  Bernard  [son  of 
Sir  Francis],  in  King  Street,  almost  opposite  Vernon's  Head; 
James  McMasters,  on  Treat's  Wharf;  Patrick  McMasters, 
opposite  the  Sign  of  the  Lamb;  John  Mein,  opposite  the 
White  Horse,  and  in  King  Street;  Nathaniel  Rogers,  oppo 
site  Mr.  Henderson  Inches'  store,  lower  end  of  King  Street; 
Wm.  Jackson,  at  the  Brazen  Head,  Cornhill;  Theophilus 
Lillie,  near  Mr.  Pemberton's  meeting-house,  North  End; 
John  Taylor,  nearly  opposite  the  Heart  and  Crown  in  Corn- 

1  History  of  the  Massacre,  114-15.     Kidder. 

2  Boston  Town  Records,  1770,  12,  1C. 

247 


248    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

hill;  Ame  &  Elizabeth  Cummings,  opposite  the  Old  Brick 
Meeting-house;  all  of  Boston;  [Col.]  Israel  Williams,  Esq. 
&  Son,  Traders  in  the  Town  of  Hatfield  and  Henry  Barnes, 
Trader  in  the  town  of  Marlboro  ugh.  Henry  Pelham,1 
writing  from  Boston  to  his  step-brother  Copley,  the  painter, 
May  1st,  says:  "Our  patriotic  Merchs.  .  .  .  have  resolved 
to  return  to  England  30,000£  worth  of  Goods  imported 
contrary  to  agreement.  .  .  .  Yesterday  Messrs.  Hutchinson 
who  had  a  large  quantity  of  Tea  under  the  Custom-house 
agreed  to  have  it  stored  by  the  committee  of  Inspec 
tion  till  the  Tea  Act  is  repealed.  .  .  .  Capt.  Scott  says  the 
London  Remonstrance  was  presented  to  the  King,  by  three 
Gentlemen  at  the  head  of  the  largest  Number  of  People 
ever  assembled  together  in  London  and  was  most  graciously 
Received." 

The  Assembly  was  to  have  met  at  Boston,  March  14th, 
but  on  orders  from  the  King  was  adjourned  to  Cambridge, 
where  it  accordingly  opened  the  15th,  in  the  Philosophy 
Room  of  the  College.  The  Speaker,  Thomas  Cushing, 
being  ill,  John  Hancock  had  been  chosen  temporarily  to 
fill  the  place  by  a  vote  of  70  out  of  74.  He  was  disapproved, 
however,  by  Hutchinson,  and  James  Warren  of  Plymouth 
substituted.2  During  April  the  Governor  laid  before  the 
House  an  account  of  the  disturbances  in  Gloucester.  Catch 
ing  at  the  opportunity,  the  members  in  a  lengthy  reply 
noted  it  as  a  sign  of  the  times  and  promised  to  inquire  into 
the  grounds  of  the  people's  uneasiness  and  "seek  a  radical 
redress  of  their  grievances."  On  the  7th  of  June  a  com 
mittee  informed  Hutchinson  it  had  been  voted  96  to  6  that 
the  Assembly  should  meet  in  Boston  instead  of  Cambridge. 
To  which  the  Governor  replied2  it  was  his  misfortune  to 
be  at  variance  with  so  large  a  number,  but  as  "the  servant 
of  the  crown"  he  had  no  choice.  After  recalling  that  when 
the  old  Boston  Court-house  was  destroyed  by  fire  he  had 

1"Some  Pelham-Copley  Letters."  Paul  Leicester  Ford.  Atlantic  Monthly, 
April,  1893. 

2  London  Magazine,  June,  August,  1770. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED          249 

thrown  the  casting  vote  which  prevented  its  rebuilding 
elsewhere,  he  added,1  "I  have  still  a  very  good  affection  for 
the  town  of  Boston,"  and  ended  by  a  warning  that  to  refuse 
to  do  business  because  the  place  of  meeting  was  not  to  their 
taste  would  bring  down  judgment  on  their  heads  and  not 
on  his.  The  Governor  would  have  been  well  pleased  to 
prorogue  the  House,  then  and  there,  had  not  a  committee 
been  appointed  to  reply  to  his  address,  a  committee  which 
irked  him  by  taking  upwards  of  a  week  to  consider  the 
matter.  When  presented,  it  was  found  Sam  Adams  did 
not  mince  matters,  but  unflinchingly  declared: 2 

"We  are  obliged  ...  to  struggle  with  all  the  powers 
with  which  the  Constitution  has  furnished  us,  in  defence 
of  our  rights,  .  .  .  We  have  seen  of  late  innumerable  en 
croachments  on  our  charter.  Courts  of  Admiralty  extended 
from  the  high  seas,  where  by  the  compact  in  the  char 
ter  they  are  confined,  to  numberless  important  causes  upon 
land;  multitudes  of  civil  officers,  the  appointment  of  all 
which  is  by  charter  confined  to  the  Governor  and  Council, 
sent  here  from  abroad  by  the  Ministry;  a  revenue  not 
granted  by  us,  but  torn  from  us;  armies  stationed  here 
without  our  consent;  and  the  streets  of  our  metropolis 
crimsoned  with  the  blood  of  our  fellow-subjects.  These 
and  other  grievances  and  cruelties,  too  many  to  be  here 
enumerated,  and  too  melancholy  to  be  much  longer  borne 
by  this  injured  people,  we  have  seen  brought  upon  us  by 
the  devices  of  ministers  of  state." 

The  request  was  then  renewed  that  Boston  might  be  the 
place  of  meeting.  Hutchinson,1  with  what  feelings  it  can 
be  imagined,  at  once  prorogued  the  House,  stating,  "It 
would  be  happy  for  them  if  at  the  next  court  attention  was 
paid  to  the  real  interests  of  the  Province." 

May  17th,  "This  morning,"  writes  Rowe3  "the  29th 
Regiment  marched  from  the  Castle  to  Providence  [whence 

1  London  Magazine,  September,  1770. 

2  Life  of  Hutchinson,  178-9.     Hosmer. 

3  Diary. 


250    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

they  shipped  for  New  Jersey].  May  18th.  Just  as  I  was 
going  to  bed  there  was  a  very  great  hallooing  in  the 
street,  and  a  mob  of  upward  a  thousand  people;  it  seems 
they  had  got  an  informer,  and  put  him  in  a  cart  covered 
with  tarr  and  feathers,  and  so  exhibited  him  thro'  the 
streets."  Throughout  the  summer  the  Tory  importers 
had  little  peace.  March  13th,  Mrs.  Henry  Barnes  J  writes 
to  the  Widow  Smith:  "The  vile  Town  of  Marlboro  have 
this  day  put  up  a  notification  to  warn  the  inhabitants  to 
Town  Meeting  to  Vote  against  importation  of  English 
Goods."  In  June,  she  again  writes: 

"I  want  to  vent  myself.  .  .  .  These  poor  deluded  peo 
ple  with  whom  we  have  lived  so  long  in  peace  and 
harmony  have  been  influenced  by  the  Sons  of  Rapin 
to  take  every  method  to  distress  us.  At  their  March 
meeting  they  entered  into  resolves  similar  to  those 
you  have  often  seen  in  the  Boston  newspapers.  At 
their  next  meeting  they  chose  four  inspectors,  —  men 
of  the  most  vioulent  disposition  of  any  in  the  town,  —  to 
watch  those  who  should  purchase  goods  at  the  store,  with 
intent  that  their  names  should  be  recorded  as  enimes  to 
their  country.  This  did  not  deter  those  from  coming 
who  had  not  voted  .  .  .  chiefly  young  people  .  .  .  when 
they  saw  .  .  .  our  custom  still  encreased,  they  fixed  a 
paper  upon  the  meeting  house,  impowering  and  adviseing 
these  unqualified  voters  to  call  a  meeting  of  their  own  and 
enter  into  the  same  resolves  with  the  other.  This  was  a 
priviledg  they  had  never  enjoyed,  and,  fond  of  their  new- 
gotten  power,  [they]  hastened  to  put  it  in  execution.  .  .  . 

While  all  this  was  in  agitation  .  .  .  they  .  .  .  begun  to 
commit  outrages.  The  first  thing  that  fell  a  sacrifice  to 
their  mallace  and  revenge  was  the  coach.  .  .  .  This  they 
took  the  cushings  out  of  and  put  them  in  the  brook  [to 
the  left  of  the  house,  beyond  Bolton  Street],  and  the  next 
night  cut  the  carriage  to  pieces.  Not  long  after  they  broke 
the  windows  at  the  Pearl  Ash  Works.  It  is  said  that  a 

1  James  Murray,  174-7.     Ed.  Tiffany. 


COMMITTEES   OF  SAFETY  FORMED  251 

young  gentleman  who  has  formilly  headed  the  mob  in  Bos 
ton  and  now  resides  with  us  is  the  perpetrator  of  all  this 
mischief,  but  I  will  not  believe  it  until  I  have  further  profe. 

The  greatest  loss  we  have  as  yet  met  with  was  by  a  mob 
in  Boston,  who,  a  few  nights  ago,  attacked  a  wagon-load  of 
goods  which  belonged  to  us.  They  abused  the  driver,  and 
cut  a  bag  of  pepper,  letting  it  all  into  the  street;  then  gath 
ered  it  up  into  their  handkerchiefs  and  hatts,  and  carried  it 
off.  The  rest  of  the  load  they  ordered  back  into  the  pub- 
lick  store,  of  which,  the  Well  Disposed  Commity  keeps  the 
key.  Mr.  Barnes  has  applied  to  the  Left.  Governor  for 
advice,  and  he  advised  him  to  put  in  a  petition  to  the  gen 
eral  court.  He  then  repaired  to  Mr.  Murray  and  begged 
his  assistance  in  the  drawing  of  it  up.  .  .  . 

The  10th.  of  June  the  unqualified  voters  had  a  meeting, 
and  the  next  day  an  effigy  was  hung  upon  a  hill  in  sight 
of  the  House,  with  a  paper  pinned  to  the  breast,  whereon 
was  wrote,  "Henry  Barnes,"  as  infamous  importer.  This 
hung  up  all  day,  and  at  night  they  burnt  it.  A  few 
nights  after  they  stole  the  covering  from  the  wagon,  which 
was  tarred  to  secure  the  goods  from  the  weather,  and  the 
same  night  stole  a  man's  horse  from  a  neighboring  stable. 
They  dressed  an  image  in  this  wagon  covering,  tarred  the 
horse,  saddle,  and  bridle,  placed  the  image  upon  his  back, 
and  set  him  loose  about  the  town,  with  an  infamous  paper 
pinned  to  the  breast,  which  was  summed  up  with  wishing 
of  us  all  in  hell.  But  still  finding  that  their  malace  had 
no  effect,  they  made  a  bold  push  and  dropped  an  incendiary 
letter.  ...  It  is  not  possible  for  me  to  express  what  I 
suffered  upon  the  perusal  of  this  letter.  I  could  not  rec 
ollect  any  one  person  that  we  had  ever  injured,  or  even 
wished  ill  to,  nor  could  I  imagine  such  villainy  ever  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man.  Mrs.  Murray  and  Miss  Polly  had 
been  paying  us  a  vissit  of  a  few  days,  and  were  just  setting 
off  for  Brush  Hill  [Milton]  when  the  letter  was  found.  Mr. 
Barnes  detained  them  while  he  wrote  a  copy  of  it,  and 
sent  it  to  Governor  Hutchinson." 


252    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

A  Proclamation,  dated  June  28th,  founded  on  this  peti 
tion  is  on  file  in  the1  State  Archives.  It  opens:  "Whereas 
on  the  21st.  Inst.  a  Letter  was  left  by  some  unknown 
Person  at  the  House  of  Henry  Barnes  Esq.  of  Marlborough, 
directed  to  him,  threatening  to  fire  his  Shop  and  destroy 
all  his  substance  that  he  hath  on  ye  Earth,  to  take  his  Body 
&  Tar  it  &  if  nothing  else  will  do  but  death  he  shall  cer 
tainly  have  it  if  he  did  not  shut  up  his  Shop  and  forbear 
Selling  and  importing  of  Goods;  to  the  receiving  of  which 
Letter  in  manner  as  aforesaid  the  said  Henry  Barnes  made 
solemn  oath  etc.  etc."  and  closes,  by  the  customary  futile 
offer  of  £50  reward  for  any  information,  Mrs.  Barnes, 
continues: 2 

"The  ladys  had  not  been  gone  many  minutes  when 
I  received  a  letter  from  Miss  Cummings,  which  was  far 
from  being  a  cordial  to  my  drooping  spirits.  She  writes 
me  word  that  one  of  the  McMasters  had  been  carted  out  of 
town  at  noon  day  in  a  most  ignominious  manner,  and  that 
the  other  two  brothers  had  fled  for  their  lives.  That  the 
news  arrived  by  Hall  had  revived  the  spirit  of  the  other 
party  to  such  a  degree  that  they  had  every  thing  to  fear, 
and  that  it  was  everybody's  opinion  poor  Preston  would 
be  hanged.  This  is  the  officer  who  is  in  jail  for  the 
unhappy  affair  on  the  fifth  of  March. 

A  gentleman  arrived  from  Boston  in  the  evening  and 
told  us  that  Mr.  Hulton's  windows  had  been  broke  and  the 
family  had  fled  to  the  Castle  for  protection.  You  may  judge 
what  sleep  I  had  that  night,  and  indeed,  ever  since  we  have 
sleept  in  such  a  manner  that  it  can  hardly  be  called  rest.  It 
is  the  business  of  the  evening  to  see  the  firearms  loaded,  and 
lights  properly  placed  in  the  store  and  house;  and  this  pre 
caution  we  have  taken  ever  since  we  received  the  letter.  .  .  . 

June  29th.  Last  night  young  Nat  Coffin  came  from 
Boston  to  pay  us  a  vissit,  and  he  brings  this  account: 
That  a  trader  about  eleven  miles  above  us,  one  Cutler,  was 

1  Mass.  State  Archives,  Vol.  88,  pp.  229-30. 

2  James  Murray,  177-9.      Ed.  Tiffany. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  253 

bringing  out  a  load  of  goods,  and  had  got  about  six  miles 
out  of  town,  when  a  party  from  Boston  persued  him  and 
brought  him  back  in  his  wagon.  ...  It  seems  he  had 
purchased  some  tea.  ..." 

She  concludes  rather  complacently,  "July  5th.,  ...  I 
received  a  letter  this  morning  from  Miss  Ame  [Cummings], 
who  acquaints  me  that  Mrs.  Murray  is  just  come  to  town 
in  high  spirits  and  bespoke  a  new  pair  of  stays  to  make 
an  appearance  when  the  troops  arrive,  which  she  says  she 
is  every  hour  in  expectation  of." 

From  other  sources  1  we  learn  that  McMasters  was 
carted  about  town  for  a  while  in  company  with  a  barrel  of 
tar  and  a  bag  of  feathers.  This  had  such  an  effect  on  his 
spirits  the  rabble  hurried  him  into  the  Town-house  in  a 
fainting  condition,  where  he  promised  faithfully  to  quit 
town  if  he  was  spared  further  punishment.  Accordingly 
he  was  hoisted  in  a  chair  and  driven  to  the  Roxbury  line. 
The  same  evening,  Tuesday,  June  19th,  between  eleven 
and  twelve,  Commissioner  Hulton's  windows  were  broken  in 
Brookline.  "You  will  easily  judge  the  distress  of  Mrs. 
Hulton,  Mrs.  Burch,  and  daughter,"  wrote  Hutchinson.2 
"Burch,  who  has  lately  moved  to  Thomas  Oliver's  house  at 
Dorchester,  lay  upon  his  arms  the  next  night,  and  kept  his 
scouts  out,  but  the  women  being  so  distrest,  both  Hulton 
and  he  went  the  day  after  to  the  Castle  with  their  friend, 
Porter,  and  several  of  the  officers  lodged  upon  Jamaica 
Plain.  Lady  Bernard  told  me  yesterday,  at  Cambridge, 
that  all  the  Gentlemen  upon  the  Plains  left  their  houses 
the  night  before,  upon  intimation  that  they  were  in  danger, 
and  that  a  search  for  officers  was  intended." 

Again  the  honorable  Thomas  Hutchinson,  Esq.,  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief  in  and  over 
his  Majesty's  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New 
England,  made  Proclamation : 3 

1  Evening  Post,  June  25,  1770. 

2  The  Town  of  Roxbury,  409.     Francis  S.  Drake,  1878.    Published  by  the  author 

3  Mass.  State  Archives,  Vol.  88,  pp.  224-5. 


254    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Whereas  it  hath  been  represented  to  me  by  Henry 
Hulton,  Esq.,  one  of  his  Majesty's  Commissioners  of  the 
Customs  in  America  That  on  the  night  after  the  19th.  of 
June  Instant  about  Midnight  being  then  at  his  House  in 
Brooklyn  he  was  awakened  by  a  gentle  knocking  at  his  door 
which  knocks  being  repeated,  he  got  out  of  his  bed  and 
enquired  of  the  person  his  business  at  that  time  of  night? 
Who  told  him  he  wanted  to  deliver  him  a  letter  that  came 
by  express  that  morning  from  New  York  —  and  that  he  had 
been  detained  at  Cambridge,  which  made  him  thus  late. 
That  thereupon  he  the  said  Henry  Hulton  put  on  his  Cloaths 
&  just  opened  his  parlour  Window  so  as  to  be  able  to  receive 
the  Letter.  That  the  Man  asked  for  a  Lodging  as  it  was 
so  late;  but  that  he  the  sd  Henry  Hulton  assured  that  he 
would  not  open  his  doors,  but  asked  for  the  Letter.  He 
said  he  had  a  Letter  indeed  &  seem'd  to  have  an  Intention 
to  push  up  the  Window,  upon  which  the  sd  Henry  Hulton 
clap'd  it  hastily  down;  instantly  whereupon  several  violent 
blows  were  struck  which  broke  the  frames  of  the  upper  Sash, 
but  resting  on  the  middle  frame  prevented  any  personal 
hurt.  That  immediately  hereupon  all  the  lowest  windows 
of  the  South  &  West  sides  of  the  house  (eight  in  number), 
were  instantly  broke  in  like  manner,  although  before  this  he 
had  no  apprehension  of  there  being  any  other  person  in 
company,  soon  after  which  the  people  without  went  away 
making  a  loud  noise  and  huzzaing.  I  have  therefore 
thought  fit  with  the  unanimous  Advice  of  his  Majesty's 
Council  to  issue  this  Proclamation  hereby  promising  a 
reward  of  Fifty  pounds  to  be  paid  out  of  the  public  Treas 
ury  to  any  person  or  persons  who  shall  inform  against  or 
discover  any  one  or  more  concerned  in  the  fore  mentioned 
Offence  so  that  he  or  they  shall  be  convicted.  And  if  the 
Informer  shall  have  been  an  Accomplice  or  anyways  en 
gaged  in  the  same,  He  shall  receive  his  Majesty's  Pardon 
and  be  also  entitled  to  the  reward  above-mentioned  upon 
conviction  of  the  Party  informed  against  as  aforesaid. 

And  I  do  hereby  require  all  Justices  of  the  Peace,  all 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  255 

Sheriffs,  and  their  Deputies,  &  all  other  civil  officers  whose 
duty  it  is  to  be  aiding  or  assisting  in  preserving  the  peace; 
to  exert  themselves  in  discovering  these  Offenders  and  in 
preventing  the  like  disorders  and  Outrages  for  the  future. 

Given  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Cambridge  the  twenty 
first  day  of  June,  1770,  in  the  tenth  year  of  the  reign  of  our 
Sovereign  and  Lord  George  the  third  by  the  Grace  of  God 
of  Great  Britain,  France  &  Ireland  King,  Defender  of  the 

Faith  &c. 

THOMAS  HUTCHINSON, 

By  his  Honor's  command.  A.  Oliver,  Secretary. 

As  for  Eben  Cutler,1  it  seems  he  belonged  in  Oxford  and 
coming  to  town  went  about  all  one  Thursday  bragging  that 
nobody  should  frighten  him  from  buying  all  the  tea  he  had 
a  mind  to.  After  a  while  he  showed  a  twelve-pound  bag  in 
proof  that  he  had  made  his  boast  good.  About  four  the 
following  morning,  people  living  along  the  road  to  the  Neck 
were  roused  by  two  wagons  clattering  out  of  town  at  full 
speed.  Although  Cutler  had  the  start,  He  was  overhauled 
at  Little  Cambridge  (Brighton)  and  his  load  of  goods 
driven  back  to  the  public  store,  one  of  the  committee 
sitting  by  his  side  for  his  protection. 

The  following  letter2  from  an  aunt  of  Commissioner 
Hulton's,  whose  son  held  a  post  in  his  department,  is  of 
interest,  especially  in  the  light  of  Mrs.  Hulton's  having 
been  a  Miss  Preston,  and  not  improbably  related  to  Captain 
Preston,  then  awaiting  his  trial: 

For  a  protection  almost  miraculous,  afforded  to  our 
dear  connections  at  Boston  in  hour  of  the  greatest  danger, 
we  have  great  reason  to  pay  the  most  grateful  acknowledge 
ments.  How  are  poor  Captain  Preston's  friends?  How 
my  heart  bleeds  for  them !  But  I  hope  yet  he  will  be  deliv 
ered  from  the  hands  of  his  merciless  Enemies.  Mr.  H[ul- 
ton]  and  family,  your  dear  Brother,  with  the  rest  of  the 

1  Evening  Post,  July  2,  1770. 

1  Notes  and  Queries.     London,  May  30,  1857. 


256     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Government's  Servants,  were  all  got  safe  to  Castle  Wil 
liam,  on  the  Island  which  was  their  Asylum  before,  on  the 
1st  July  last,  and  were  well;  but  I  should  not  think  them  safe 
anywhere,  but  for  a  trust  in  that  power  and  goodness  which 
has  defended  them  from  the  attempts  of  those  that  came 
with  a  design  to  destroy  them. 

July  22d,  says  Rowe: l  "Capt.  Smith  of  the  Nassau 
arrived  from  London,  and  gives  an  account  of  the  proroga 
tion  of  the  Parliament,  the  20th.  of  May,  without  repealing 
the  duty  on  tea.  The  people,  I  hope,  will  have  virtue 
enough  never  to  make  use  of  it  as  long  as  the  duty  is 
demanded."  The  Bostonians  were  not  without  encourage 
ment  from  their  Whig  friends  at  this  time,  as  a  private 
letter,  dated  London,  July  23d,  bears  witness.  "For  that 
noble  stand  you  have  made,"  so  it 2  runs,  "in  the  cause  of 
both  civil  and  Christian  liberty,  the  whole  Christian  world 
owe  you  much  thanks.  The  star  rising  out  of  your  wilder 
ness  will,  I  trust  and  pray,  become  a  luminary  and  enlighten 
the  whole  earth.  May  your  patience  and  fidelity  continue 
steadfast  to  the  end."  As  the  autumn  drew  near  the  trial 
of  the  soldiers  began  to  fill  men's  thoughts.  August  27th, 
we  find  James  Murray3  writing  from  Milton  to  Colonel 
Dalrymple  the  following  letter  respecting  Preston,  where, 
after  summing  up  the  purport  of  an  earlier  communica 
tion  [wherein  I  had  stated]  "that  I  was  well  convinced  of 
his  Innocence,  Zealous  for  the  peace  and  Credit  of  the  town, 
and  should  be  sorry  to  hear  of  any  violence  against  him; 
that  I  should  be  ready,  as  a  Civil  Magistrate,  to  escort,  I 
should  have  said  to  be  escorted  by,  a  party  of  two  hundred 
men  of  your  Regiment  with  their  Officers  to  Town,  there  to 
remain  in  Smith's  Barrack  during  his  Trial  and  to  the  Issue 
of  it;  that  a  Sentry  from  the  top  of  the  House  could  see  or 
hear  a  Signal  from  the  Goal;  that  no  mortal  knew  of  the 
proposal  and  that  it  did  not  seem  to  me  necessary  that  any 

1  Diary.  2  The  source  for  this  has  not  been  found. 

3  James  Murray,  166-7.     Ed.  Tiffany. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  257 

should  know  it,  but  General  Gage  and  you,  Sir,  and  Cap 
tain  Preston  for  his  peace  of  mind,"  he  continues: 

I  have  recapitulated,  because  you  say  you  sent  the 
Letter  to  the  General  after  communicating  it  to  the  Lieut. 
Governor.  I  should  have  been  glad  indeed  when  you  saw 
this  Step  necessary  of  showing  it  to  his  Hon'r,  that  you  had 
been  pleased  to  give  me  an  opportunity  of  mending  my 
letter,  in  that  Respect.  My  not  mentioning  His  Hon'r 
proceeded  from  no  Disrespect  to  him;  but  Experience  had 
convinced  me  that  such  an  Offer  from  me  would  not  avail 
with  him,  unless  previously  recommended  by  the  General. 

In  this  day's  Letter  you  are  pleased  to  signify  that  part 
of  your  Orders  and  Instructions  are  "to  be  aiding  and  assist 
ing  to  the  Civil  Magistrate  in  the  Execution  of  Laws  and 
in  repressing  violences  whenever  you  receive  a  Regular 
Requisition  for  that  purpose."  What  greater  Violences  in 
any  state,  tollerably  civilized,  can  be  committed  than  what 
have  lately  been  committed  in  Boston?  .which  violences  I 
do  in  my  Conscience  believe  will  be  crowned  with  the  Mur 
der  of  Captain  Preston,  if  there  is  no  military  force  to  sup 
port  a  Magistrate  and  the  Laws  for  his  protection.  In 
this  firm  belief  I  do  require  of  you  such  an  aid  as  I  before 
mentioned,  and  fear  not  we  shall  all  behave  on  the  Service 
so  as  to  obtain  the  Approbation  of  God  and  all  good  men. 

This  requisition,  being  made  without  the  participation 
or  even  privity  of  the  Lieut.  Governor,  can  not  be  disagree 
able  to  his  Honor,  as  he  will  not  be  answerable  for  the 
Consequences  should  they  prove  unfortunate.  I  have  the 
Honor  to  be  with  much  Respect,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  Servant, 

JAMES  MURRAY. 

The  10th  of  September,  we  learn  from  Rowe,  Lieu  ten 
ant-Governor  Hutchinson  delivered  up  the  Castle  to  Colonel 
Dalrymple  in  defiance  of  all  charter  rights,  by  express  order 
from  his  Majesty  in  council.  Says  Hutchinson,1  "They  were 

1  Provincial  Pictures,  31.     Goodwin. 


258    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

all  struck  when  they  heard  the  order.  Pitts  said:  'perhaps 
it  is  executed  already.'  I  made  no  reply."  Whatever  one's 
opinion  may  be  as  to  the  course  Hutchinson  had  mapped 
out  for  himself,  at  least  he  was  consistently  loyal  to  his 
own  sense  of  duty  and  to  his  prince,  going  steadily  forward 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  storm  that  threatened,  with 
open  eyes. 

October  3d,  he  wrote 1  with  entire  grasp  of  the  situation : 
"I  think  it  must  puzzle  the  wisest  heads  in  the  kingdom  to 
restore  America  to  a  state  of  government  and  order.  .  .  . 
In  general  I  can  say  that  the  wound  may  be  skinned  over, 
but  can  never  be  healed  until  it  is  laid  open  to  the  bone. 
Parliament  must  give  up  its  claim  to  a  supreme  authority 
over  the  Colonies,  or  the  Colonies  must  cease  from  assert 
ing  a  supreme  legislative  among  themselves.  Until  these 
points  are  settled,  we  shall  be  always  liable  upon  every 
slight  occasion  to  fresh  disorders." 

On  Wednesday,  October  the  24th,  Captain  Preston's 
trial  was  called.  Jonathan  Sewall,  the  King's  attorney, 
had  absented  himself,  and  Robert  Treat  Paine  conducted 
the  prosecution  with  Samuel  Quincy,  for  the  Crown.  John 
Adams,  Josiah  Quincy,  Samuel's  younger  brother,  and  Samp 
son  Salter  Blowers  defended  the  prisoners.  Nehemiah 
Davis  of  Brookline2  was  "challenged  peremptorily"  from 
serving  on  the  jury  which,  as  finally  made  up,  consisted  of 
two  men  each  from  Roxbury,  Dorchester,  and  Milton, 
one  each  from  Stoughton,  Braintree,  and  Dedham,  and  three 
from  Hingham.  In  the  course  of  Preston's  defence,  young 
Quincy  argued,2  "We  ought  to  recollect,  that  our  present 
decisions  will  be  scanned,  perhaps  through  all  Europe. 
.  .  .  Consider,  Gentlemen,  the  danger  which  you,  and  all 
of  us  are  in,  of  being  led  away  by  our  affections  and  attach 
ments."  "You  are  to  think,  judge,  and  act,  as  jurymen, 
and  not  as  statesmen."  After  commenting  on  the  "fer 
ment"  of  mind  when  the  troops  landed,  he  continued: 

1  Life  of  Hutchinson,  197.     Hosmer. 

2  History  of  the  Massacre,  126,  175-8.     Kidder. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  259 

Matters  being  thus  circumstanced,  what  might  be  ex 
pected.  No  room  was  left  for  cordiality  and  friendship. 
Discontent  was  seated  on  almost  every  brow.  Instead  of 
that  hospitality  that  the  soldier  thought  himself  entitled 
to,  scorn,  contempt,  and  silent  murmurs  were  his  reception. 
.  .  .  Scarce  an  eye  but  flashed  indignant  fire.  .  .  .  The 
constitutional  legality,  the  propriety,  the  expediency  of 
[quartering  troops  in  the  Province]  are  questions  of  state, 
not  to  be  determined  nor  even  agitated  by  us  in  this  court. 
It  is  enough  for  us  ...  they  were  ordered  here  by  your 
sovereign  and  mine  .  .  .  What  though  an  impertinent  boy 
had  received  unjustifiable  correction  from  the  sentinel;  the 
boy  and  the  persons  in  Cornhill,  must  have  recourse  only 
to  the  law  for  their  redress.  .  .  .  Let  me  remind  you  of  an 
author,  whom,  I  could  wish  were  in  the  hands  of  all  of 
you.  ...  I  allude  to  the  third  letter  of  the  Farmer  of  Penn 
sylvania  to  his  Countrymen.  "The  cause  of  liberty,"  says 
that  great  and  good  writer,  "is  a  cause  of  too  much  dignity 
to  be  sullied  by  turbulence  and  tumult.1  It  ought  to  be 
maintained  in  a  manner  suitable  to  her  nature.  Those 
who  engage  in  it,  should  breathe  a  sedate,  yet  fervent  spirit 
animating  them  to  actions  of  prudence,  justice,  modesty, 
bravery,  humanity,  and  magnanimity."  What  has  there 
transpired  on  this  trial,  savoring  of  any  of  these  virtues? 
Was  it  justice  or  humanity  to  attack,  insult,  ridicule  and 
abuse  a  single  sentinel  on  his  post?  Was  it  either  modest, 
brave,  or  magnanimous  to  rush  upon  the  points  of  fixed 
bayonets,  and  trifle,  vapor,  and  provoke  at  the  very  mouths 
of  loaded  muskets?  l 

John  Adams  pursued  the  same  line  of  thought:1  "The 
law,"  he  quoted  from  Algernon  Sidney,  "no  passion  can 
disturb.  'Tis  void  of  desire  and  fear,  lust  and  anger. 
'Tis  mens  sine  affectu;  written  reason;  retaining  some  meas 
ure  of  the  divine  perfection.  It  does  not  enjoin  that  which 
pleases  a  weak,  frail  man,  but,  without  regard  to  persons, 
commands  that  which  is  good,  and  punishes  evil  in  all, 

1  History  of  the  Massacre,  258-9.     Kidder. 


260    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

whether  rich  or  poor,  high  or  low.  'Tis  deaf,  inexorable, 
inflexible,"  and  then  exclaimed,  "Yes,  on  the  one  hand  it 
is  deaf  to  the  cries  and  lamentations  of  the  prisoners;  on 
the  other  it  is  deaf,  deaf  as  an  adder,  to  the  clamors  of  the 
populace."  While  the  Court  sat  an  incendiary  paper  was 
posted  up  over  night  on  the  Town-house  door,  which  read : l 

To  see  the  sufferings  of  my  fellow-townsmen 
And  own  myself  a  man;  To  see  the  Court 
Cheat  the  INJURED  people  with  a  shew 
Of  justice,  which  we  ne'er  can  taste  of; 
Drive  us  like  wrecks  down  the  rough  tide  of  power, 
While  no  hold  is  left  to  save  us  from  destruction, 
All  that  bear  this  are  slaves,  and  we  as  such, 
Not  to  rouse  up  at  the  great  call  of  Nature 
And  free  the  world  from  such  domestic  tyrants. 

Hutchinson  hastened  to  offer  £100  L.M.  out  of  the 
Public  Treasury  for  discovery  of  the  writer,  but  again 
without  avail. 

The  trial,  happily,  was  not  to  end  so  discreditably  to 
the  Province.  On  Monday  the  judges,  Edmund  Trow- 
bridge,  Peter  Oliver,  John  Cushing,  and  Benjamin  Lynch, 
Jr.,  began  their  charge,  expressing  their  belief  in  Pres 
ton's  innocence.  Next  day  the  jury  returned  a  verdict  of 
"not  guilty,"  when  he  was  immediately  discharged  and 
rejoined  his  command  at  Castle  William.  The  soldiers' 
trial  ended  December  5th,  when  six  of  them  were  likewise 
acquitted  and  two  found  guilty  of  manslaughter,  viz., 
Matthew  Killroy  and  Hugh  Montgomery,  both  of  whom, 
in  open  court  were  branded,  presumably  on  the  ball  of  the 
left  thumb,  with  an  "M,"2  and  discharged.  Adams  says: 
"I  never  pitied  any  men  more  than  the  two  soldiers.  .  .  . 
They  were  noble,  fine-looking  men;  protested  they  had  done 
nothing  contrary  to  their  duty  as  soldiers;  and  when  the 

1  Historic  Mansions  and  Highways  around  Boston,  241.    Samuel  Adams  Drake. 
Boston,  1899:  Little,  Brown  and  Company. 

2  This  form  of  punishment  is  cited  in  A  Colonial  Officer  and  his  Times,  Colonel 
Alfred  Moore  Waddell.      Raleigh,  1890:  Edwards  and  Broughton. 


ALGERNON  SIDNEY 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  261 

Sheriff  approached  to  perform  his  office,  they   burst   into 
tears."1 

Respecting  Preston's  trial,  John  Adams  writes  2  in  his 
diary:  "Nineteen  guineas  was  all  I  ever  received  for  fourteen 
or  fifteen  days'  labor  in  the  most  exhausting  and  fatigueing 
cause  I  ever  tried,  for  hazarding  a  popularity  very  general 
and  very  hardly  earned,  and  for  incurring  a  clamor,  popular 
suspicions,  and  prejudices,  which  are  not  yet  worn  out,  and 
never  will  be  forgotten  as  long  as  the  history  of  this  period 
is  read." 

Captain  Preston  seems  only  to  have  lingered  until  the 
fate  of  his  men  was  known,  as  he  sailed  on  the  6th  for 
England.  A  little  later  he  is  said  to  have  been  in  receipt  of 
a  Government  pension  of  £200  a  year.3 

The  anniversary  of  the  Massacre  continued  to  be  ob 
served  in  Boston  until  1784.  The  first  year,  commemorative 
exercises  were  held  in  the  Manufactory  house,  and  some 
transparencies  exhibited  by  Revere.  Paul  Revere,4  whose 
name  is  so  identified  with  the  opening  of.  the  Revolution, 
was  now  thirty-six  years  of  age,  having  been  born  January 
1st,  1735,  on  Hanover  Street  (then  North  Street),  opposite 
Clark  and  near  the  corner  of  Tileston.  He  was  of  Hugue 
not  descent,  his  grandfather  leaving  St.  Foy  for  Guernsey, 
and  removing  thence  to  Boston;  the  name  was  originally 
spelt  Rivoire.  Toward  the  close  of  his  life  Paul  had  his 
home  in  Charter  Street  near  Hanover,  Revere  Place  mark 
ing  its  site;  but  at  this  earlier  period  he  was  living  on  North 
Square.  The  central  transparency  representing  the  Mas 
sacre  itself  was  entitled  Foul  Play.  In  the  north  window 
appeared  the  Genius  of  Liberty  seated  on  a  stump,  uphold 
ing  a  staff  and  liberty  cap,  and  trampling  on  a  soldier 
hugging  a  serpent  —  the  emblem  of  military  oppression— 
while  she  pointed  at  the  Massacre  as  its  natural  fruit. 

1  Memoir  of  the  Life  of  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  by  his  son,  Josiah  Quincy,  2d  ed.,  29. 
Boston,  1874:  John  Wilson  and  Son. 

2  John  Adams,  Life  and  Works,  II,  231. 

3  Evening  Post,  December  10,  1770,  and  October  28,  1771. 

4  Life  of  Revere,  I,  27-9.     Goss. 


262    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

The  south  window  showed  an  obelisk  bearing  the  names  of 
the  five  slain,  and  surmounted  by  Snider's  bust.  In  the 
background  a  ghost  was  seen  surrounded  by  weeping  friends 
who  strove  to  staunch  an  open  wound,  and  the  couplet: 

Snider's  pale  ghost  fresh  bleeding  stands, 
And  Vengeance  for  his  death  demands. 

Crowds  gathered  about  the  house  gazing  on  the  pictures 
in  "solemn  silence  and  melancholy  gloom;"  to  add  to  the 
effect,  the  church-bells  were  tolled  an  hour  at  noon,  and 
again  from  nine  to  ten  at  night.  In  the  latter  part  of  March 
the  French  lad,  Charlotte  Bourgate,  who,  it  will  be  remem 
bered,  gave  damaging  testimony  against  Man  waring  at  the 
time  of  the  Massacre,  was  convicted  of  perjury.  He  was  l 
sentenced  to  sit  one  hour  in  the  pillory  and  receive  twenty- 
five  stripes  at  the  whipping-post,  but  Rowe  2  tells  us  he 
escaped  being  flogged,  since  "the  Populous  hindered  the 
Sheriff  doing  his  duty." 

During  the  month  Lieutenant-Governor  Hutchinson 
received  his  commission  to  succeed  the  late  Governor  Ber 
nard;  his  wife's  brother-in-law,  Andrew  Oliver,  the  recent 
stamp  distributor,  being  at  the  same  time  advanced  to  the 
office  of  Lieutenant-Governor. 

Thomas  Hutchinson  was  now  sixty  years  of  age,  hav 
ing  been  born  in  1711  in  Garden  Court  Street  at  the  North 
End.  The  appointment  of  a  governor  native  to  the  coun 
try  warmed  the  people  toward  him  at  first,  and  the  Harvard 
students  sang  joyously,  at  his  inauguration  in  Holden 
Chapel,  the  anthem: 3  "Thus  saith  the  Lord:  From  hence 
forth,  behold!  all  nations  shall  call  thee  blessed;  for  thy 
rulers  shall  be  of  thy  own  kindred,  your  nobles  shall  be  of 
yourselves,  and  thy  Governor  shall  proceed  from  the  midst 
of  thee."  The  future  looked  brighter  than  for  some  time 
past  to  the  Tory  party.  As  John  Adams  put  it,4  "the 

1  Evening  Post,  March  25,  1771. 

2  Letters,  213.     Ed.  Cunningham. 

8  Life  of  Hutchinson,  203.     Hosmer. 
4  Diary,  II,  282. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  263 

bigoted,  the  superstitious,  the  enthusiastical,  the  tools,  the 
interested,  the  timid,  are  all  dazzled  with  his  glare,  and 
can't  see  clearly  when  he  is  in  the  horizon."  When  the 
Assembly  met  in  May,  Otis,  temporarily  recovered,  was,  to 
be  sure,  in  attendance,  but  in  his  weakened  state  he  turned 
jealous  of  Sam  Adams  and  drew  rather  away  from  his  old 
friends.  This  was  peculiarly  mischievous,  as  he  had  a 
large  following.  It  almost  seemed  as  if  even  Hancock  might 
be  won  over.  John  Adams  was  attending  to  his  private 
law  practice,  leaving  Sam  Adams  the  only  strong  force  to 
combat.  At  this  session,  while  remonstrating  on  their 
removal  from  Boston,  the  Assembly  omitted  their  usual 
denial  of  the  Crown's  right  to  cause  this  removal  and  even 
went  so  far  as  to  admit,  if  he  pleased,  the  Governor  might 
call  them  "to  Housatonic  l  in  the  western  extreme  of  the 
Province."  Sam  Adams  strengthened  himself  in  the  belief 
there  yet 1  remained  a  great  majority  who  "would  not  go 
up  to  the  house  of  Rimmon  or  bow  the  knee  to  Baal."  But 
for  the  moment  the  tide  set  the  other  way,  and  there  came 
a  lull  in  the  onward  course  of  events.  Daniel  Leonard,  a 
lawyer  and  member  of  the  Assembly,  had  been  one  of  the 
ablest  speakers  on  the  Patriots'  side.  By  his  marriage  he 
had  come  into  great  wealth  and  presently  "made  the  world 
stare,"2  setting  up  a  coach  and  constantly  rumbling  back 
and  forth  between  Boston  and  Taunton,  wearing  the  broad 
est  possible  gold  lace  about  his  hat  brim,  and  still  broader 
upon  his  cloak.  Desirous  of  bringing  him  over  into  the 
Tory  ranks,  Hutchinson  now  began  to  pay  him  court, 
and  between  flattery  and  fear,  it  is  said,  accomplished  his 
purpose. 

April  29th  a  recruiting  party  3  was  established  in  Bos 
ton  and  used  as  a  guard,  June  4th,  at  the  Birthnight  Ball, 
given  in  Concert  Hall  by  Mrs.  Gambier,  wife  of  the  naval 
commander. 

1  Life  of  Hutchinson,  213,  215.     Hosmer. 

2  Annals,  204-5.     Morse. 

3  History  of  Boston,  28G.    Snow. 


264     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

June  16th,  Rowe  records:  l  "There  were  3  seizures  made, 
some  tea  at  Plymouth,  a  schooner  from  St.  Peters  with 
brandy,  wine,  &c,  another  schooner  that  short-entered  her 
cargoe  of  molasses  belonging  to  Mr.  Forster  of  Cape  Ann. 
These  affairs  give  great  uneasiness,  and  'tis  believed  will 
raise  the  minds  of  the  people.  July  17,  another  sloop 
.  .  .  seized." 

During  September  Sam  Adams  wrote  to  the  Boston 
Gazette  pointing  out  that  "should  we  acquiese  in  [the  min 
istry  taking  3d],  only  because  they  pleased,  we  at  least 
tacitly  consent  that  they  should  have  sovereign  control  of 
our  purses,  and  when  they  please  they  will  claim  an  equal 
right,  and  perhaps  plead  a  precedent  from  it,  to  take  a 
shilling  or  a  pound."  2 

No  opportunity  for  commending  home  manufactures 
was  lost.  The  Harvard  class  of  1770  had  graduated  in 
homespun,3  and  Boston  ladies  held  spinning  parties,  with 
out  tea,  on  alternate  nights,  cheering  the  workers  with 
liberty  songs  accompanied  by  the  spinet.  Elsewhere, 
this  year  was  marked  by  uprisings.  The  collector  of  the 
port,  Charles  Dudly,4  was  assaulted  while  on  duty  at  New 
port,  and  the  men  at  Providence  burnt  the  King's  Wasp.5 
As  long  before  as  the  spring  of  1767  a  body  of  so-called  Reg 
ulators  organized  in  North  Carolina  to  redress  grievances. 
At  first  they  were  reasonable  in  their  demands,  and  suc 
ceeded  in  presenting  Edmund  Fanning,  recorder  of  con 
veyances,  for  trial  upon  five  distinct  charges  of  extortion. 
Fanning's  conviction,  however,  became  a  further  ground 
of  complaint,  since  he  was  let  off  by  the  Royal  Judges 
with  a  fine  of  5d  and  costs.6  In  their  exasperation  the  Regu 
lators,  led  by  an  unprincipled  agitator  named  Herman 

1  Diary. 

2  The  Writings  of  Samuel  Adams,  II,  211.     Collected  and  edited  by  Harry 
Alonzo  Gushing.     New  York,  1906:  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

3  Historic  Pilgrimages  in  N.  E.,  304.     Bacon. 

4  Historical  Address  Newport,  36.     Sheffield. 

5  The  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  164.     Botta. 
8  A  Colonial  Officer  and  his  Times.     Waddell. 


CHARLES  JAEMS  Fox 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED          265 

Husbands,  exceeded  all  bounds  and  fell  into  such  disrepute 
the  Council  and  Legislature  united  in  urging  their  suppres 
sion.  Accordingly  the  militia  were  called  out  and  on  the 
16th  of  May,  1771,  some  eleven  hundred  of  the  Governor's 
party  defeated  a  mob  of  two  thousand  Regulators  on  the 
shore  of  the  Allamance,  near  the  head-waters  of  the  Cape 
Fear,  a  number  falling  on  both  sides.  November  16th, 
the  printers  of  the  Massachusetts  Spy  were  sent  for  by 
the  Governor  and  Council,  who  ordered  the  King's  attorney 
to  prosecute  them.  A  Scotchman  visiting  Boston  that 
autumn  remarks,1  "The  men-of-war  lying  close  up  to  the 
town  make  them  sing  small."  During  the  winter  much 
attention  was  given  by  Parliament  to  the  question  how 
far  the  press  should  be  under  control.  Lord  Mansfield 
held  2  that  in  the  case  of  a  given  pamphlet  the  jury's  sole 
concern  was  with  the  bare  fact  of  its  issue,  leaving  it  to  the 
judge  to  determine  its  character  as  actionable  or  otherwise. 
The  Whigs  justly  felt  if  this  theory  should  become  the 
rule,  no  freedom  worth  having  remained.  Captain  Con- 
stantine  Phipps  of  the  navy  (later  Lord  Mulgrave)  and 
Sergeant  Glynn  exerted  themselves  on  the  Whig  side, 
while  Thurlow,  for  his  address  in  parrying  their  proposi 
tions,  was  promptly  made  Attorney-General.  About  this 
time  Wedderburn  forsook  the  Liberal  party  and  was  made 
Solicitor-General.  Henceforth,  when  Lord  North  threw 
scorn  on  a  pretence  of  patriotism  concealing  a  zeal  for  office 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Opposition,  everyone  gazed  on  Wedder 
burn,  seated  on  the  Treasury  bench  "pale  as  death."  2 
Anything  like  a  formal  record  of  speeches  made  in  the  House 
was  unknown  at  this  time.  The  accounts  that  have  come 
down  to  us  are  based,  at  the  best,  on  the  recollection  of 
several  hearers.  Accuracy  was  not  always  even  attempted 
by  the  reporter;  indeed  Dr.  Johnson  affirmed 3  that  he 
always  took  care  the  "Whig  dogs"  had  the  worst  of  it! 

1  The  source  for  this  has  not  been  found. 

2  Life  of  Fox,  291,  334.     Trevelyan. 

3  Warwick  History  of  England,  148. 


266    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

In  March  of  1771,  Colonel  Onslow  ("Cocking  George"), 
bent  on  making  an  example,  denounced  a  printer  for  refer 
ring  to  an  adherent  of  Government  as  "a  paltry  insect,"  ! 
and  indiscretion  in  publishing  certain  debates.  Wilkes, 
pending  his  admission  to  Parliament,  was  now  an  alderman 
for  the  ward  of  Farringdon  Without;  accordingly,  when 
two  of  the  printers  appealed  to  the  Lord  Mayor,  Brass 
Crosby,  for  protection  and  were  brought  before  him  and 
his  colleague,  Richard  Oliver,  they  ordered  the  men  dis 
charged,  and  arrested  in  their  turn  a  messenger  of  the 
House,  and  committed  him  to  the  Compter  on  the  charge 
of  assault.  His  offence  lay  in  his  attempt  to  take  into 
custody  a  citizen  without  lawful  warrant,  the  Lord  Mayor 
bearing  sole  jurisdiction  east  of  Temple  Bar.  The  King 
at  once  adjured  Lord  North  to  put  the  Lord  Mayor  and 
Alderman  Oliver  in  the  Tower.  Sir  William  Meredith, 
an  old-time  Jacobite,  quoted  from  Clarendon  on  the  danger 
of  magnifying  the  House  unduly,  affirming  to  his  mind  there 
was  but  one  course,  and  that  was  "to  put  a  stop  to  this 
business."  l  Lord  John  Cavendish  and  Henry  Herbert, 
later  Lord  Portchester,  took  the  same  ground.  Sir  Gilbert 
Elliot,  in  the  King's  interest,  spoke,  amidst  the  clamor  of  the 
Court  party,  on  the  ignominy  of  being  browbeaten  by  three 
City  officials.  Charles  James  Fox,  already  a  Lord  of  Treas 
ury  at  twenty-two,  and  one  of  North's  ablest  supporters, 
observed  1  it  was  worth  noting  that  the  catch  phrase  "the 
people  of  England"  was  first  identified  by  the  Opposition 
with  the  Middlesex  electors,  next  with  the  citizens  of  Lon 
don,  and  now  it  was  narrowed  down  to  the  Lord  Mayor 
and  two  aldermen;  arguing  perversely  that,  since  the  City 
Rights,  whatever  they  might  be,  were  derived  from  the 
Crown,  the  People's  Cause  lay  perforce  with  the  House  of 
Commons.  A  division  was  then  called  which  stood  267 
to  80  in  favor  of  Administration.  The  entire  way  to  the 
House  Crosby  and  Oliver  were  greeted  with  applause  as 
Guardians  of  the  City's  Rights  and  the  Nation's  Liberties. 

1  Life  of  Fox,  308,  314-17,  322.     Trevelyan. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED          267 

All  London  was  in  an  uproar.  One  member  was  a  good  two 
hours  working  his  way  in  through  the  crowd  l  massed  before 
the  door  of  the  House.  When  called  upon  for  his  defence, 
Oliver's  upholders  asked  with  what  was  he  charged.  "That 
will  depend,"  launched  out  Fox,  glibly,1  "on  what  his 
defence  may  be!"  Oliver,  seeing  his  case  was  prejudged, 
defied  the  House,  and  it  was  at  once  moved  he  should 
be  lodged  in  the  Tower.  William  Burke  bade  the  House 
"Good  night."  Barre  turned  on  Administration  with  fury 
and  strode  off,  bidding  all  good  men  and  true  to  follow 
him.1  Fox  maintained  it  was  the  duty  of  the  House  to 
vote  without  prejudice  from  the  coercion  of  either  guards 
or  of  rioters,  and  the  vote  for  committal  was  carried. 
The  whole  affair  ran  against  Lord  North's  judgment,  but 
he  was  practically  a  figurehead,  with  the  King  and  his  hire 
lings,  under  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot,  in  actual  command;  and 
Crosby1  disdaining  the  custody  of  the  sergeant-at-arms, 
although  suffering  with  gout,  was  despatched  to  bear  Oliver 
company. 

March  29th,  the  day  following  the  Lord  Mayor's  com 
mittal,  the  King  went  to  the  House  amidst  the  jeers  and 
hisses  of  some  eighty  thousand.  Fox,  mistaken  for  North, 
had  his  chariot  wrecked  on  this  occasion  and  hung  out  of  a 
coffee-house  window  in  Palace  yard,  shaking  his  fist  and 
stinging  the  rioters  to  fresh  violence,  while  Selwyn 2  applauded 
his  boyish  sallies  in  the  background.  April  1st  effigies  of 
the  Princess  Dowager  and  Bute  were  beheaded  by  chimney 
sweeps  and  then  burnt.3  A  few  days  later,  at  midday,  a 
hearse  and  two  carts  with  gallows  and  pasteboard  effigies 
of  L — d  B — n  (Barrington),  L — d  H — x  (Halifax),  Alderman 
H—  (Hon.  Thomas  Harley),  L.  the  Usurper  (Luttrel), 
De  G— y  (Attorney-General  De  Gray),  J.  T.  (Jemmy  Twit- 
cher,  i.e.,  Sandwich),  C — g  Geo.  (Cocking  George  Onslow) 
were  paraded  through  the  City  to  Tower  Hill  and  presently 

1  Life  of  Fox,  33G-7,  337-9,  344.     Trevelyan. 

2  Caricature  History,  326.     Wright. 

3  Memoirs,  IV,  203.     Walpole,  ed.  Barker. 


268    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

burnt.  The  dying  speeches  of  "some  supposed  male 
factors"  1  being  subsequently  hawked  about  the  streets. 
Wilkes  had  been  also  ordered  before  the  House,  but  since 
he  refused  to  attend 2  unless  summoned  in  his  rightful 
capacity  as  member  for  Middlesex,  a  fact  they  were  loath 
to  admit,  he  escaped  sentence.  To  complete  the  humilia 
tion  of  the  City,  the  Lord  Mayor's  clerk  was  compelled, 
standing  at  the  bar  of  the  House,  to  strike  out  the  record 
of  committing  its  late  messenger.  Burke  led  the  Opposi 
tion  at  this  time,  and  is  said  to  have  headed  twenty- three 
divisions  and  kept  the  members  sitting  until  five  in  the 
morning  at  the  height  of  the  excitement.  The  state 
prisoners  meanwhile  lived  on  the  fat  of  the  land,  and  Alder 
man  Oliver  was  toasted  as  " Oliver  the  Second."  Before  the 
month  was  out  they  received  a  complimentary  visit  from 
two  dukes,  a  marquis,  an  earl,  and  Burke  and  Dowdeswell 
representing  the  Commons.  When  Parliament  broke  up 
early  in  May,  their  liberty  was  restored ;  the  King's  progress 
from  the  Palace  to  the  Lords  being  fairly  dwarfed  by  the 
triumphal  parade  of  the  late  prisoners  back  into  the  city, 
scarlet-gowned  aldermen  dividing  the  glories  with  the 
artillery  company  in  full  muster.2  There  was  cause  for 
rejoicing,  since  the  struggle  for  unchecked  freedom  in 
reporting  debates  was  practically  won. 

As  if  in  utter  defiance  of  public  opinion,  a  little  before 
this,  the  first  lord  of  Admiralty,  Sandwich  —  for  whom 
Captain  Cook  named  the  Hawaiian  Islands  —  was  made 
Secretary  of  State,  in  place  of  Lord  Weymouth,  resigned. 
Churchill  wTote  of  him : 2 

Too  infamous  to  have  a  friend; 

Too  bad  for  bad  men  to  commend, 

Or  good  to  name;  beneath  whose  weight 

Earth  groans;  who  hath  been  spared  by  fate 

Only  to  show,  on  mercy's  plan, 

How  far  and  long  God  bears  with  man. 

1  Caricature  History,  326.     Wright. 

2  Life  of  Fox,  327,  309-10,  345-6,  69.     Trevelyan. 


JOHN  EARL  OF  SANDWICH 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  2G9 

Walpolc,  however,  says,1  "No  man  had  so  many  public 
enemies  who  had  so  few  private,"  and  that  no  man  in 
the  Administration  was  so  much  master  of  business;  at  the 
same  time  he  was  the  soul  of  the  Catch  Club  and  threw 
his  house  open  to  musicians. 

In  1772,  by  a  further  change  in  the  Cabinet,  Lord 
Dartmouth  succeeded  Hillsborough  as  Colonial  Secretary. 
March  5th  of  that  year  Dr.  Chauncy  preached  in  memory  of 
the  Massacre,  and  transparencies  were  exhibited  from  Mrs. 
Clapham's  balcony2  in  King  Street.  It  was  little  suspected 
then  how  soon  a  fresh  event  would  take  up  everyone's 
thoughts. 

Early  in  the  month,  the  schooner  Gaspee,*  eight  guns, 
had  been  sent  into  the  Narragansett  waters  by  order  of 
Admiral  Montague  to  enforce  the  laws  against  smuggling. 
The  commander,  Lieutenant  Win.  Dudingston,  was  need 
lessly  overbearing  in  his  duties:  holding  up  market  boats, 
busy  about  their  simple  everyday  concerns;  stopping 
the  regular  packet,  and  compelling  its  flag  to  salute,  with 
out  deigning  to  show  his  commission.  The  complaints 
were  such,  Deputy-Governor  Darius  Sessions  of  Providence 
at  length  forwarded  a  list  of  grievances  to  Governor  Joseph 
Wanton  at  Newport.  Although  a  loyalist,  Governor  Wan 
ton  felt  the  small  craft  of  the  bay  could  not  rightly  be  held 
up  without  cause  shown.  In  this  opinion  Chief  Justice 
Hopkins  concurred.  A  letter  was  thereupon  sent  to  Lieut. 
Dudingston  by  the  High  Sheriff,  requesting  the  commander 
to  produce  his  commission  in  future.  No  satisfaction  being 
received  from  this  letter,  a  second  was  despatched.  This 
last  letter  drew  an  angry  retort  from  Rear  Admiral  John 
Montague,  to  whom  the  matter  had  been  referred,  running 
in  part:  "I  shall  report  your  two  insolent  letters  to  my 
officer,  to  His  Majesty's  secretaries  of  State,  and  leave 
them  to  determine  what  right  you  have  to  demand  a  sight 
of  all  orders  I  shall  give  to  the  officers  of  my  squadron, 

1  Memoirs,  IV,  171.     Ed.  Barker.  2  Evening  Post,  March  9,  1772. 

3  Our  Country,  II,  695-7.     Lossing. 


270     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

and  I  would  advise  you  not  to  send  your  sheriff  on  board 
the  King's  ship  again  on  such  ridiculous  errands."  Gov 
ernor  Wanton  in  replying  writes:  "I  am  greatly  obliged 
for  the  promise  of  transmitting  my  letter  to  the  secretary 
of  state.  I  am,  however,  a  little  shocked  at  your  impolite 
expression,  made  use  of  on  that  occasion.  In  return  for  this 
good  office,  I  shall  also  transmit  your  letter  to  the  secre 
tary  of  state,  and  leave  to  the  King  and  his  ministers  to 
determine  on  which  side  the  charge  of  insolence  lies.  As  to 
your  advice  not  to  send  the  sheriff  on  board  any  of  your 
squadron,  please  to  know  that  I  will  send  the  sheriff  of  this 
colony  at  any  time  and  to  any  place,  within  the  body  of 
it,  as  I  shall  think  fit."  When  the  Assembly  was  acquainted 
writh  the  correspondence,  it  was  voted  to  lay  the  matter 
before  Lord  Hillsborough.  Before  any  action  could  be 
taken  in  England,  a  crisis  had  been  reached. 

On  the  9th  of  June  the  sloop  Hannah,  a  weekly  packet 
commanded  by  Captain  Ben  Lindsey,  plying  between 
Providence  and  New  York,  had  made  her  call  at  Newport, 
running  up  her  colors  on  entering  that  harbor  as  her  wont 
was,  to  remain  until  safe  docked  in  port.  On  the  packet's 
homeward  course,  having  duly  reported  her  cargo  at  the 
Newport  Custom-house,  the  Gaspee  was  encountered. 
Wearied  by  her  repeated  orders  to  hold  up  and  dip  the 
colors,1  the  packet  took  advantage  of  a  favoring  wind  to 
skim  ahead  toward  the  west  shore  and  entice  the  stranger- 
craft  upon  Namquit  Bar,  now  Gaspee  Point  —  then  cov 
ered  by  the  flood  tide  —  where  she  speedily  grounded. 
On  reaching  Providence  the  captain's  story  of  the  schooner's 
plight  stirred  the  merchants  to  immediate  action.  A  meet 
ing  was  called  at  Sabin's  tavern  1  by  beat  of  drum,  where 
Abraham  WThipple,  John  Brown's  ablest  skipper,  organized 
a  party  of  sixty-five  men,  who  set  off  between  ten  and  eleven, 
to  take  advantage  of  the  ebb  tide,  in  eight  long-boats  or 
whale  boats,  four  rowers  with  muffled  oars  to  each.  The 

1  Records  of  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island,  VII,  57-192.  Ed.  John  Russell 
Bartlett.  Providence,  1862. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  271 

seven-mile  pull  took  some  time,  but  by  a  quarter  to  one  in 
the  morning  the  Gaspee  was  reached.  The  boats  stole  up 
out  of  the  night  so  silently  that  Bart  Chivers,  seaman, 
acting  as  sentinel  on  the  quarterdeck,  at  first  supposed 
them  to  be  merely  shore-rocks.1  When  he  made  out  they 
were  boats  and  found  that  his  hail  was  not  returned,  he  snapt 
his  gun,  and  Lieutenant  Dudingston  ran  up  on  deck  in  his 
nightshirt.  Five  of  the  Gaspee's  men,  it  appears,  were 
absent  on  a  detail  in  Boston,  leaving  but  nineteen  aboard. 
Hurrying  midshipman  William  Dickenson  to  the  cabin 
below  in  search  of  the  key  to  the  arm  chest,  Dudingston 
ordered  the  boats  off,  but  was  answered  the  sheriff  of  the 
county  of  Kent  was  aboard  and  they  must  come  on.  Re 
gaining  the  deck,  the  midshipman  fired  once,  without  effect, 
into  the  boats,  some  forty  or  fifty  feet  distant.  Seeing  only 
five  on  deck,  Dudingston  now  ran  to  the  hatch  and  called 
down  to  the  men  to  tumble  up  and  not  stop  for  their  clothes. 
The  rowers,  meanwhile,  with  a  halloo,  had  shipped  their 
oars  alongside  in  something  like  three  minutes  from  the  time 
of  discovery,  and  in  an  instant  were  scrambling  over 
the  rails.  The  lieutenant  struck  at  one  man  clambering 
into  the  chains  on  the  starboard  bow  with  his  hanger. 
The  man  fell  back  into  the  boat,  but  the  rush  of  the 
boarders  was  not  checked,  for  with  the  return  fire  the  lieu 
tenant's  left  arm  was  broken  and  he  received  a  ball  in  his 
left  groin.  He  was  at  once  thrown  down  and  forced  with 
the  others  into  the  hold,  where  the  crews'  arms  were  tied 
behind  their  backs.  The  so-called  "sheriff"  at  first  sup 
posed  the  lieutenant  was  shamming  an  injury  and  d — d  him 
for  a  scoundrel,  but  when  he  found  Dudingston  really  hurt, 
a  medical  student  in  the  party  was  called  to  give  him  every 
attention.  Then  all  hands  from  the  schooner  having  been 
landed  at  Pawtuxet,  a  neighboring  beach,  a  train  was  laid 
to  the  magazine  and  the  Gaspee  blown  up.  A  formidable 
Commission  of  Inquiry  was  established  to  consider  this 

1  Rhode  Inland  Historical  Society  Proceedings,  1890-91,  88.    *W.  Noel  Sains- 
bury,  Esq.,  of  the  Public  Record  Office,  London. 


272     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

bold  deed,  consisting  of  Governor  Joseph  Wanton,  of 
Rhode  Island;  Daniel  Horsmanden,  chief  justice  of  New 
York;  Frederick  Smyth,  chief  justice  of  New  Jersey;  Peter 
Oliver,  chief  justice  of  Massachusetts;  and  Robert  Auch- 
muty,  judge  of  the  Vice-Admiralty  Court.  The  King,  says 
Stiles,1  had  ordered  particular  inquiry  to  be  made  "as  to 
Mr.  John  Brown  [Treasurer  of  Brown  University  1775-96]; 
Mr.  Joseph  Brown  of  Providence;  Captain  Potter  of  Bris 
tol;  and  Dr.  Weeks  of  Warwick,  and  if  evidence  appear,  not 
to  adjudge  upon  them,  but  deliver  them  up  to  Admiral 
Montague  to  be  sent  to  England  and  take  Trial  there." 
Later,  letters  were  despatched  to  Providence  calling  upon 
Mr.  George  Browne,  Mr.  Jno.  Cole,  Mr.  Hitchcock,  Mr. 
Andruss,  Mr.  Fenner,  and  Mr.  Sabin  for  information  sup 
posed  to  be  in  their  possession,  but  nothing  came  of  it.  The 
offer  of  a  large  reward  produced  no  result  beyond  a  local 
rhyme  which  runs  as  follows:2 

Now  for  to  find  these  people  out, 
King  George  has  offered  very  stout, 
One  thousand  pounds  to  find  out  one 
That  wounded  Wm.  Duddington; 
One  thousand  more,  he  says,  he'll  spare 
For  those  who  say  the  sheriffs  were; 
One  thousand  more  there  doth  remain 
For  to  find  out  the  leader's  name; 
Likewise  five  hundred  pounds  per  man 
For  any  one  of  all  the  clan. 
But  let  him  try  his  utmost  skill, 
I'm  apt  to  think  he  never  will 
Find  any  of  those  hearts  of  gold, 
Though  he  should  offer  fifty-fold. 

No  conclusion  was  reached  by  the  Commission,  which  broke 
up  with  "much  Stillness."1  As  for  the  lieutenant,  by  the 
2d  of  September  he  was  sufficiently  recovered  to  be  sent 
home,  with  a  favorable  recommendation  from  Admiral 
Montague,  to  stand  his  court-martial.  This  took  place 

1  Diary,  I,  330,  324,  338,  391.     Stiles. 

2  Colonial  Days,  101.     Markham. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  273 

at  Portsmouth,  aboard  the  Centaur,  when  he  was  honorably 1 
acquitted.  The  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society  2  to  this 
day  preserves  among  its  treasures  a  silver  goblet  said  to 
have  been  taken  from  the  Gaspee  before  she  was  fired. 

Hutchinson  wrote  at  this  time: 3  "I  hope  if  there  should 
be  another  like  attempt,  some  concerned  in  it  may  be  taken 
prisoners  and  carried  direct  to  England.  A  few  punished 
at  Execution  Dock  [Wapping]  would  be  the  only  effectual 
preventive  of  any  further  attempts.  In  every  Colony  they 
are  sure  of  escaping  with  impunity.  I  have  brought  the 
Assembly  to  such  a  state  that  though  there  are  a  small 
majority  sour  enough,  yet  when  they  seek  matter  for  pro 
tests,  remonstrances,  they  are  puzzled  where  to  charge  the 
grievances  which  they  look  for  ...  Under  such  circum 
stances,  and  the  advantage  of  having  them  in  the  town  of 
Boston,  where  I  can  see  a  company  of  them  every  day, 
which,  by  the  way,  you  would  think  to  be  dearly  earning 
your  salary,  I  hope  to  pass  through  a  session  without  much 
trouble.  Some  foolish  thing  or  other  from  such  people 
is  always  of  course."  These  hopes  may  have  been  pre 
mature,  for  on  August  27th  we  find  him  writing  over  to 
England: 4  "The  opinion  that  every  colony  has  a  legisla 
ture  within  itself,  the  acts  and  doings  of  which  are  not  to 
be  controlled  by  Parliament  and  that  no  legislative  power 
ought  to  be  exercised  over  the  colonies,  except  by  their 
respective  legislatures,  gains  ground  every  day."  He  then 
adds  meaningly,  "there  is  sufficient  grounds  for  parlia 
ment  to  proceed,  if  there  is  a  disposition;"  and  after  asking 
"What,  it  will  be  said,  can  be  done?"  answers  his  own 
question  as  follows:  "For  assemblies  or  bodies  of  men,  who 
shall  deny  the  authority  of  Parliament,  —  may  not  all  their 
subsequent  proceedings  be  declared  to  be  ipso  facto  null 
and  void,  and  every  member  who  shall  continue  to  act  in 

1  R.  L  Hist.  Soc.  Pro.,  1890-91. 

2  "The   Rhode  Island  Historical  Society."     Edward  Fuller.     New  England 
Magazine,  January,  1901. 

1  Hutchinson,  232-3.     Hosmer. 
4  Annals,  168.     Morse. 


274    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

such  assembly  be  subject  to  penalties  and  incapacities?" 
and  concludes,  "Thus  you  have  a  few  of  my  sudden 
thoughts,  which  I  must  pray  you  not  to  communicate  as 
coming  from  me." 

Stiles,1  under  August  25th,  1772,  tells  how  Mr.  Aaron 
Lopez  the  Jewish  merchant  at  Newport,  who  had  twenty 
sail  of  trading  ships,  by  keeping  out  of  the  non-importation 
agreement  had  received  special  favor  from  the  Collector  of 
the  Port,  Charles  Dudly,  his  captains  being  exempt  from 
swearing  their  entries.  On  the  other  hand  a  sailor  on  Mr. 
Christopher  Ellery's  vessel,  having  a  single  twenty-pound 
bag  of  tea  aboard,  he  was  obliged  to  go  before  the  commis 
sioners  in  Boston  and  spend  $60  or  $80  to  get  her  delivered. 
"I  have  known,"  continues  Stiles,1  "Collector  Dudly  refuse 
a  present,  a  Cask  of  Wine  or  &c.  and  tell  the  Owner  that 
he  was  obliged  to  refuse  all  Gratuities  and  dare  not  take 
any  Thing  —  neither  did  he  from  him  in  several  Voyages. 
The  Collector  answered  his  End  —  this  Man  believed  it, 
and  trumpetted  through  Town,  that  the  Collector  received 
nothing  but  lawful  Fees.  Much  about  the  same  Time  I 
heard  a  Captain  say  that  his  people  had  wheeled  home  to 
the  Collector  Wines,  Fruits,  £c.,  and  they  were  not  rejected 
nor  returned.  I  have  been  informed  of  much  higher  Cus 
tom  house  Frauds  and  Peculations.  How  did  Dudly  get 
his  Office?  His  Father  is  an  English  Clergyman  in  the  West 
of  England  in  some  of  those  diminished  Towns  where  30  or 
40  Freeholders  elect  two  Members  of  Parliament :  the  Father 
was  the  omnis  Homo  of  the  Parish  and  could  by  his  Influ 
ence  command  the  Election.  He  set  his  price,  as  is  said, 
that  his  son  shd.  have  the  Collectorship  of  Rhode  Island, 
The  Member  of  Parliament  procured  it  for  him.  Dudly 
behaves  in  Office  as  well  as  any  of  them:  but  bad  is  the  best." 
To  show  what  filled  the  popular  mind,  a  young  Englishman 2 
writes  from  Philadelphia,  "Our  Play-bills  promise  to  exhibit 
to  us  the  Noble  Struggles  for  liberty  of  those  renowned 
Romans,  Brutus  and  Cassius,  though  poor  Cassius  was  so 

1  Diary,  I,  270-1.  »  The  Francis  Letters,  I,  118.     Ed.  Francis. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  275 

deficient  in  his  Latin  as  to  call  Publius  *  Puppy-Lies,' 
throughout  the  whole  Piece."  "It  became  the  fashion," 
John  Adams  tells  us, "to  read  books  that  dealt  with  the  laws 
of  nations  and  the  principles  of  Government."  Mrs.  Mac- 
auley's  "History  of  the  Stuart  Reign"  in  five  volumes,  Clar 
endon's  "History  of  the  Civil  Wars,"  and  Cato's  "Letters" 
were  especial  favorites.  "How  often,"  he  exclaims,1  "have 
I  heard  in  conversation  in  private  parties,  and  how  often  it 
was  said  in  the  streets,  *I  will  never  live  to  see  such  acts 
of  Parliament  executed  in  this  country,'  constantly  echoed 
'Nor  I,'  'Nor  I,'  no  man  venturing  an  'I  will."  It  was 
at  about  this  time  Mrs.  Macauley,  "that  matchless  spirited 
Lady,"  as  the  agent  for  Rhode  Island  calls  her,  pre 
sented  her  Works  to  Redwood  Library  in  Newport.  "Her 
Spirit,"  continues  Mr.  Marchant,  "rouses  and  flashes  like 
Lightning  upon  the  Subject  of  ...  any  Thing  noble  and 
generous."2 

There  had  been  so  much  annoyance  in  the  past  from 
Governor  Hutchinson's  practice  of  proroguing  an  Assembly 
almost  as  soon  as  it  was  come  together  that  the  Boston 
town  meeting,  some  time  during  the  fall  of  1772,  presented 
a  petition  against  the  exercise  of  this  power  for  the  approach 
ing  session.  For  some  time  past  the  Governor  had  felt 
that  the  Boston  town  meeting  was  inclined  to  usurp  his 
powers  as  well  as  the  King's,  and  he  now  quietly  snubbed 
it  for  interfering  with  what  did  not  belong  to  its  business.3 
Sam  Adams  was  quick  to  take  advantage  of  his  fellow- 
townsmen's  irritation  at  this  rebuff,  and  November  2d 
carried  a  Resolve:  That  a  committee  of  21  should  be  chosen 
to  correspond  with  other  towns  in  the  Province,  viz., 
James  Otis,  Saml.  Adams,  Dr.  Joseph  Warren,  Dr.  Ben 
jamin  Church,  Wm.  Dennie,  Wm.  Greenleaf,  Joseph  Green- 
leaf,  Esq.,  Dr.  Thomas  Young,  Wm.  Powell,  Nathaniel 
Appleton,  Oliver  Wendell,  John  Sweetser,  Josiah  Quincy, 
Esq.,  Capt.  John  Bradford,  Richard  Boynton,  Esq.,  Capt. 

1  Annals,  208,  201.     Morse.  2  Diary,  I,  293,  251.     Stiles. 

3  Town  Records,  1770-77,  92-3. 


276     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Wm.  Mackay,  Major  Nathaniel  Barber,  Deacon  Caleb 
Davis,  Alexander  Hill,  Wm.  Molineux,  and  Robert  Pier- 
pont.  This  step  had  long  been  favored  by  Adams  since  it 
supplied  means  for  the  ready  extension  of  any  movement 
while  uniting  the  whole  Province  in  a  solid  front.  He  even 
hoped  eventually  that  all  the  Colonies  might  be  drawn  into 
a  compact  body.  This  vision  has  come  true,  for  this  was 
the  little  seed  which  was  to  spring  up  and  grow  until  seen 
of  all  men  as  the  future  United  States. 

About  the  same  time  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  l 
adopted  a  similar  plan,  having  direct  reference  to  an  imme 
diate  general  correspondence  between  the  Colonies.  These 
two  great  States  led  the  way.  It  was  natural  it  should  be 
so.  Both  were  of  English  origin,  and  spirit,  and  tradition. 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Delaware  had  been  settled  by 
Dutch  and  Swedes;  Pennsylvania  in  large  part  by  Ger 
mans;  South  Carolina  had  many  French  Huguenots.  Penn 
sylvania,  to  be  sure,  was  an  English  Colony,  but  its  Quaker 
population  shrank  from  contention  and  perhaps  remem 
bered  Massachusetts  had  been  no  friend  to  their  faith  in 
the  past.  All  these  influences  at  work  led  to  the  first  steps 
being  taken  by  Massachusetts  and  Virginia.  When  once 
the  remaining  Colonies  came  to  see  what  was  at  stake,  they 
heartily  threw  in  their  lot  with  the  leaders,  and  made 
success  possible. 

November  20th,  1772,  the  Votes  and  Proceedings  of 
the  Town  of  Boston 2  were  printed  as  a  Pamphlet  and  sent 
to  each  Town  stating  the  Rights  of  the  Colonists.  Having 
referred  to  "that  great  jurist,"  Mr.  Justice  Blackstone, 
admitting  that  the  Magna  Charta  was  "justly  obtained  of 
King  John  sword  in  hand,"  the  town  does  not  hesitate 
to  add,  "peradventure  it  must  be  one  day,  sword  in  hand, 
again  rescued  and  preserved  from  total  destruction  and 
oblivion."  It  asks:  "Can  it  be  said  with  any  colour  of  truth 
and  Justice,  that  this  Continent  of  three  thousand  miles 

1  History  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  299.     Spencer. 

2  Town  Records,  1770-71,  97-8,  104. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED          277 

in  length,  and  of  a  breadth  as  yet  unexplored,  in  which, 
however,  it's  supposed,  there  are  five  millions  of  people, 
has  the  least  voice,  vote,  or  influence  in  the  decisions  of  the 
British  Parliament?  Have  they,  all  together,  any  more 
right  or  power  to  return  a  single  member  to  that  house  of 
commons,  who  have  not  inadvertently,  but  deliberately 
assumed  a  power  to  dispose  of  their  lives,  Liberties  and 
properties,  than  to  choose  an  Emperor  of  China!"  And 
notes  further:  "Although  by  the  Charter  all  Havens,  Rivers, 
Ports,  Waters  &c.  are  expressly  granted  the  Inhabitants 
of  the  Province  and  their  Successors,  to  their  only  proper 
use  and  behoof  forever,  yet  the  British  Parliament  passed 
an  act,  whereby  they  restrain  us  from  carrying  our  Wool, 
the  produce  of  our  own  farms,  even  over  a  ferry;  whereby 
the  Inhabitants  have  often  been  put  to  the  expence  of  carry 
ing  a  Bag  of  Wool  near  an  hundred  miles  by  land,  when 
passing  over  a  River  or  Water  of  one  quarter  of  a  mile,  of 
which  the  Province  are  the  absolute  Proprietors,  would  have 
prevented  all  that  trouble."  "If  it  should  be  the  general 
voice  of  this  Province,"  it  goes  on,  "that  the  Rights  as  we 
have  stated  them,  do  not  belong  to  us;  or  that  the  several 
measures  of  Administration  in  the  British  Court,  are  no 
violations  of  these  Rights,  or  that  if  they  are  thus  violated 
or  infringed,  they  are  not  worth  contending  for,  or  resolutely 
maintaining;  —  should  this  be  the  general  voice  of  the  Prov 
ince,  we  must  be  resigned  to  our  wretched  fate;  but  shall 
forever  lament  the  extinction  of  that  generous  ardor  for 
Civil  and  Religious  liberty,  which  .  .  .  induced  our  fathers 
to  forsake  the  bosom  of  their  Native  Country,  and  begin 
a  settlement  on  bare  Creation."  It  then  concludes:  "It 
becomes  every  well  wisher  to  his  Country,  while  it  has  any 
remains  of  freedom,  to  keep  an  Eagle  Eye  upon  every  inno 
vation.  .  .  .  Let  us  disappoint  the  Men  who  are  raising 
themselves  on  the  ruin  of  this  Country.  Let  us  convince 
every  Invader  of  our  freedom,  that  we  will  be  as  free 
as  the  Constitution  our  Fathers  recognized,  will  Justify."  l 

1  Town  Records,  1770-71,  107,  108. 


278    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

The  original  replies  of  the  Massachusetts  towns  may  still 
be  seen  in  the  Lenox  Library  in  New  York.  "One  may 
well  read  them,"  writes  Hosmer,1  "with  bated  breath,  for 
it  is  the  touch  of  the  elbow  as  the  stout  little  democracies 
dress  up  into  line,  just  before  they  plunge  in  at  Concord 
and  Bunker  Hill.  There  is  sometimes  a  noble  scorn  of  the 
restraints  of  orthography,  as  of  the  despotism  of  Great 
Britain,  in  the  work  of  the  old  town  clerks,  for  they  generally 
were  secretaries  of  the  committees;  and  once  in  a  while 
a  touch  of  Dogberry's  quaintness  .  .  .  yet  the  documents 
ought  to  inspire  the  deepest  reverence.  It  is  the  high 
est  mark  the  Town-Meeting  has  ever  touched.  Never 
before  and  never  since  have  Anglo-Saxon  men,  in  lawful 
Folkmote  assembled,  given  utterance  to  thoughts  and  feel 
ings  so  fine  in  themselves  and  so  pregnant  with  great  events. 
To  each  letter  stand  affixed  the  names  of  the  committee  in 
the  autograph.  This  awkward  scrawl  wras  made  by  the  rough 
fist  of  a  Cape  Ann  fisherman,  on  shore  for  the  day  to  do  at 
Town -Meeting  the  duty  his  fellows  had  laid  upon  him; 
the  hand  that  wrote  this  was  cramped  from  the  scythe- 
handle,  as  its  possessor  mowed  an  intervale  on  the  Con 
necticut;  this  blotted  signature  where  smutted  fingers  have 
left  a  black  stain  was  written  by  a  blacksmith  of  Middle 
sex,  turning  aside  a  moment  from  forging  a  gun  barrel  that 
was  to  do  duty  at  Lexington.  They  were  men  of  the  plain 
est;  but  as  the  documents,  containing  statements  of  the  most 
generous  principles  and  the  most  courageous  determina 
tion,  were  read  in  the  town-houses,  the  committees  who 
produced  them  and  the  constituents  for  whom  the  com 
mittees  stood,  were  lifted  above  the  ordinary  level.  Their 
horizon  expanded  to  the  broadest;  they  had  in  view  not 
simply  themselves,  but  the  welfare  of  the  continent;  not 
solely  their  own  generation,  but  remote  posterity."  It  is 
interesting  to  note  how  the  idea  of  Correspondence  was 
greeted  in  one  little  town.  The  llth  of  December,  Brookline, 
on  the  outskirts  of  Boston,  called  a  meeting  of  freeholders 

1  Life  of  Hutchinson,  237-8.     Hosmer. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED          279 

and  inhabitants,  at  which  time  a  Standing  Committee 
was  chosen  to  correspond  with  the  Town  of  Boston, 
viz.,1  Win.  Hyslop,  Esq'r;  Isaac  Gardner,  Esq'r,  Town 
Clerk  and  Selectman;  Deacon  Ebenezer  Davis,  Town  Treas 
urer;  Captain  Benjamin  White,  Selectman  and  Represent 
ative;  Mr.  Isaac  Child,  also  Selectman;  Mr.  John  Goddard; 
and  Mr.  John  Harris.  The  meeting  then  adjourned  to  the 
28th,  when  all  met,  Mr.  Hyslop  acting  as  moderator.  The 
records  read  the  meeting  was  "as  full  as  Usual"  and  the 
following  Resolutions  "unanimously  passed  by  the  Town." 
Viz.  1st.  Voted  that  the  Rights  of  the  Colonists,  and  this 
Province  in  particular  as  men,  as  Chrystians,  &  as  Subjects, 
as  Set  forth  in  the  Said  Votes  &  Proceedings  of  the  Town  of 
Boston,  are  in  the  Opinion  of  this  Town  well  Stated  &  appear 
to  be  founded  on  ye  Laus  of  Nature,  Divine  Revelation,  the 
British  Constitution,  and  the  Charter  of  this  Province. 

2d  Voted  that  the  Infringement  &  Violation  of  those 
Rights,  as  also  Set  forth  therin  are  in  the  Opinion  of  this 
Town  great  Grievances  which  this  People  have  for  years  past 
been  burdened  with,  and  for  the  Redress  of  which  Petitions 
&  Remonstrances  have  been  made,  but  hitherto  in  Vain. 

3d  Voted  The  Raising  a  Revennue  within  this  Prov 
ince  by  an  assumed  Power  in  the  Brittishe  House  of  Com 
mons,  to  give  and  grant  our  Money  without  our  Consent 
&  appropriating  the  Money  so  Raised  for  the  Support  of  the 
Government  of  the  Province  and  the  Payment  of  the  Charges 
of  the  Administration  of  Justice  therein  so  repugnant  to  the 
first  Principles  of  a  free  Constitution  and  the  obvious  mean 
ing  &  Spirit  of  the  Royal  Charter  of  this  Province. 

4th  Voted  that  an  Establishment  for  the  Support  of 
the  Govonor  of  the  Province,  and  the  Judges  of  the  Superior 
Court,  &c.  (if  the  latter  be  already  made  as  we  have  Just 
reason  to  apprehend)  to  be  paid  out  the  Monies  raised  as 
aforesaid,  independent  of  the  free  Gifts  and  Grants  of  the 
Commons  of  this  Province  are  in  the  Opinion  of  this  Town 
leading  and  alarming  Steps  towards  rendering  the  whole 

1  Brookline  Town  Records,  234,  236-7. 


280    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

executive  Power  independent,  of  the  People,  and  setting 
up  an  despotic  Government  in  this  Province. 

5th  Voted  that  the  Representative  of  this  Town  be 
and  hereby  is  instructed  to  exert  his  utmost  Powers  and 
Abilities  in  the  General  Assembly  with  constant  Persever 
ance  in  promoting  such  Measures  there  as  will  speedily  and 
effectually  to  Remove  these  and  other  intolerable  Griev 
ances  enumerated  in  the  aforesaid  Votes  and  Proceedings  of 
the  Town  of  Boston. 

6th  Voted  that  the  Freeholders  and  Inhabitants  of  the 
Town  of  Boston  in  thus  clearly  stating  our  Rights,  and  hold 
ing  up  so  many  of  our  Grievances  in  one  View,  have  done 
an  acceptable  Service  to  this  Town  and  Province  and  that 
the  sincere  &  hearty  Thanks  of  this  Town  be  hereby  given 
to  them  therefore. 

7th  Voted  that  there  be  Committee  now  Chosen  to  Write 
to  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  in  Boston  and  commu 
nicate  to  them  a  true  attested  Copy  of  the  foregoing  Votes, 
and  also  further  correspond  with  said  Committee  of  Boston 
or  any  other  Towns  if  they  shall  think  it  needful. 

"Then  the  Town  made  choice  of  the  following  Gentlemen 
for  the  purpose  aforesaid."  The  names  of  the  Standing 
Committee  follow:  "attest  Isaac  Gardner  Town  Clerk." 
The  meeting  had  continued  so  long,  the  Disposal  of  a  Pew 
and  care  of  the  Burying  yard  were  referred  to  a  future 
meeting.  The  letter  that  follows  was  addressed  early  in 
the  New  Year: 

To  the  Committee  of  Communication   &  Correspondence  at 
Boston.1 

BROOKLYN,  January  4,  1773. 

Gentlemen:  The  Freeholders  and  other  Inhabitants  of 
this  Town  at  a  meeting  Legally  assembled  upon  the  28th. 
of  Decem'r  last  by  adjournment,  having  duly  considered 
a  Letter  from  the  Town  of  Boston,  directed  to  the  Select 
Men  of  this  Town,  accompanied  with  a  State  of  the  Rights 

1  Brookline  Town  Records,  238-9. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED          281 

of  the  Colonies,  and  of  this  Province  in  particular,  as  also  a 
List  of  the  Infringements  of  their  Rights  to  be  communicated 
to  this  Town,  take  this  Oportunity  to  Return  you  our 
hearty  and  unfeigned  Thanks  which  was  Voted  by  said 
Town;  for  the  early  Care  that  you  took  in  clearly  and  Truly 
Stating  our  Rights  and  Priviledges  and  making  manifest 
the  many  and  glaring  Violations  and  Infringements  thereof, 
which  if  not  speedily  prevented  must  inevitably  ruin  the 
Constitution  of  this  Province  as  Settled  by  the  Charter 
granted  by  King  William  and  Queen  Mary  of  glorious 
Memory,  and  also  that  this  Town  think  themselves  happy 
in  being  always  ready  to  add  their  Mite  towards  with  Stand 
ing  any  arbitrary  despotick  Measures  that  are  or  may  be 
carried  on  to  overthrow  the  Constitution  and  deprive  us 
of  all  our  invaluable  Rights  and  Priviledges  which  are  & 
ought  to  be  as  dear  or  dearer  than  Life  it  selfe. 

We  have  inclosed  you  a  Copy  of  the  Votes  and  Proceed 
ings  of  the  Town  so  far  as  we  have  gone.  May  he  that 
ruleth  in  the  Kingdom  of  Men  direct  all  our  Counsels,  & 
grant  Success  to  all  our  Lawful  Endeavors,  that  are  or  may 
be  taken  for  the  Preservation  of  the  civil  and  religious  Rights 
&  Priviledges,  of  the  Colonies  &  of  this  Province  in  particu- 
ular.  So  as  that  we  the  Children  of  so  worthy  Progenitors 
may  be  enabled  to  transmit  to  our  Children  those  inval 
uable  Rights  &  Priviledges,  as  we  had  them  transmitted  to  us. 
they  were  many  times  in  Trouble  on  various  Accounts,  and 
in  their  affliction  they  cryed  to  God,  and  he  delivered  them; 
and  if  we  their  Children  follow  their  Example,  may  depend 
upon  the  same  Success  they  had:  which  God  grant  may  be 
the  Case  with  us  in  our  Present  Difficulties. 

We  wish  all  Prosperity  to  the  Town  of  Boston  and  may 
unerring  Wisdom  direct  all  her  Consultations  and  Counsels. 

We  are  with  great  Respect,  Gentlemen, 

your  Friends  and  Servants, 

In  the  common  Cause  of  our  Country, 

WILLIAM  HYSLOP  per  Order 
Attest  Isaac  Gardner  Town  Clerk." 


282    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Governor  Hutchinson  l  makes  special  reference  to 
similar  resolutions  passed  by  the  towns  of  Plymouth, 
Charlestown,  Cambridge,  Marblehead,  and  Roxbury.  At 
a  town  meeting  in  Petersham  a  committee,  taking  into 
consideration  the  "awful  frowns  of  Divine  Providence" 
now  manifest,  concludes  hopefully: 2 

God  will  not  suffer  this  land,  where  the  Gospel  hath 
flourished,  to  become  a  slave  of  the  world;  he  will  stir  up 
witnesses  of  the  truth;  and  in  his  own  time  spirit  his  people 
to  stand  up  for  his  cause,  and  deliver  them.  In  a  similar 
belief,  that  patriot  of  patriots,  the  great  Algernon  Sidney, 
lived  and  died,  and  dying  breathed  a  like  sentiment  and 
prophecy,  touching  his  own  and  the  then  approaching  times, 
a  prophecy,  however,  not  accomplished  until  a  glorious 
revolution. 

Approved  of  by  vote  of  the  Town  without  contradic 
tion. 

SYLVANUS  How,  per  order. 

January  6th,  Hutchinson  convened  the  Legislature, 
restored  at  length  to  its  "ancient  &  convenient  Seat,"  and 
took  the  bull  by  the  horns,  challenging  the  Assembly  to 
show  if  they  could  that  his  interpretation  of  the  Constitu 
tion  was  in  error,  and  ending  by  the  announcement  that 
the  Crown  in  future  would  be  responsible  for  his  salary 
and  that  of  the  judges.  This  led  to  a  grand  battle  of 
quills.  Sam  Adams  drafted  a  reply  which  was  revised  by 
John  Adams  (now  thirty-eight  years  of  age),  and  acknowl 
edged  as  the  most  notable  state  paper  of  the  day.  The 
gist,  says  Hosmer,  of  the  whole  was  apropos  the  l  "dilemma 
proposed  by  the  Governor;  that  if  Parliament  is  not  supreme, 
the  Colonies  are  independent.  The  alternative  is  accepted, 
and  the  claim  made  that  since  vassalage  of  the  Colonies 
could  not  have  been  intended,  independent  the  Colonies 
are."  The  Legislature  at  the  same  time  warned  the  judges, 

1  Life  of  Hutchinson,  249,  251-2,  254,  256-7.     Hosmer. 
8  American  Revolution,  I,  319-20.     Gordon. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  283 

as  surely  as  they  accepted  their  salary  from  the  Crown, 
they  might  expect  to  be  impeached. 

May  27th,  Rowe  notes  that  Mr.  Hulton  and  Mr.  Hallo- 
well,  two  of  the  commissioners  of  customs,  on  coming  out 
from  a  public  dinner  at  Concert  Hall  were  very  much 
abused;  "William  Mollineaux,  William  Dennie,  Paul 
Revere  and  several  others  were  the  principal  actors."  l 
This  spring  a  standing  committee  of  correspondence  was 
appointed : 2  The  Speaker,  Mr.  Cushing,  Sam  Adams, 
Hon.  John  Hancock,  Wm.  Phillips,  Captain  Wm.  Heath, 
Hon.  Joseph  Hawley,  James  Warren,  Esq.,  R.  Derby,  Jr., 
Esq.,  Elbridge  Gerry,  J.  Bowers,  Esq.,  Jedidiah  Foster, 
Esq.,  Daniel  Leonard,  Esq.,  Captain  T.  Gardner,  Captain 
Jonathan  Greenleaf,  J.  Prescott,  Esq.  —  fifteen  in  all,  of 
whom  eight  were  to  constitute  a  quorum.  No  one  had 
greater  influence  than  Mr.  Cushing  by  reason  of  his  "good 
sense,  sound  judgement,  urbanity  of  manners,  large  con 
nection,  and  wide  association  with  all  sorts  of  people."  3 

August  14th,  "This  day,"  says  Rowe,1  "the  Sons  of 
Liberty  held  their  annual  feast  at  Roxbury  in  the  training 
field  by  John  Williams';  there  was  upwards  of  four  hun 
dred  that  dined  there." 

In  the  interval,  Boston  had  been  convulsed  by  certain 
original  letters,  forwarded  from  England  to  the  Speaker, 
Thomas  Cushing,  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Corres 
pondence,  by  the  Colonies'  Agent,  Benjamin  Franklin. 
Six  of  these 4  letters  were  from  Hutchinson,  four  from 
Andrew  Oliver,  and  the  rest  from  various  individuals. 
They  had  been  written  three  or  four  years  previously  and 
contained  matter  "much  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Province," 
says  John  Andrews.5  It  was  intended  at  first  they  should 
be  shown  only 6  to  Bowdoin,  Pitts,  Doctors  Winthrop, 

1  Diary. 

2  Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution,  95.     Niles. 
1  Annals,  222.     Morse. 

4  Life  of  Hutchinson,  269.     Hosmer. 

6  Letters  of  John  Andrews,  June  4,  1773.     Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Pro.,  July,  1865. 

6  American  Revolution,  I,  328-9.     Gordon. 


284     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Chauncy,  and  Cooper;  later  the  Speaker  had  leave  to  show 
them  to  the  Committee  of  Correspondence,  and  then  to 
trusty  folk  generally,  on  the  understanding  that  no  copies 
were  to  be  taken.  Finally  Gushing  was  overborne,  and  they 
were  read  in  the  House  and  then  publication  was  insisted  on. 
At  this  period,  Trevelyan  tells  us,  mail  was  constantly 
tampered  with  in  the  interest  of  party,  until  it  came  to  be 
almost  an  understood  thing.  "I  don't  know,"  Rigby  wrote1 
to  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  "who  is  to  read  this  letter,  whether 
French  ministers  or  English  ministers;  but  I  am  not  guarded 
in  what  I  write,  as  I  choose  the  latter  should  know  through 
every  possible  channel  the  utter  contempt  I  bear  them." 

It  has  never  been  known  in  just  what  way  the  letters 
came  into  Franklin's  hands.  By  one  account  Thomas 
Whateley,  an  under  Secretary  who  died  in  1772,  is  supposed 
to  have  shown  them  to  George  Grenville,  at  whose  death 
they  are  supposed  to  have  come  into  the  possession  of  Sir 
John  Temple,  Councillor  James  Bowdoin's  son-in-law,  who 
turned  them  over  to  Franklin.2  Another  rumor3  has  it: 
Dr.  Hugh  Williamson  of  Philadelphia,  coming  to  London, 
learned  that  Hutchinson's  letters  had  gone  to  a  different 
office  from  the  one  where  they  should  have  been  filed. 
Taking  advantage  of  this,  he  went  boldly  to  the  chief  clerk 
and  said  he  had  called  for  the  correspondence.  The  letters 
were  at  once  given  up  and  Williamson,  having  delivered 
them  to  Franklin,  sailed  next  day  for  Holland.  Parson 
Stiles,4  on  the  other  hand,  writing  on  the  10th  of  June  of 
the  same  year,  states:  "Mr.  Storer  [Story?]  of  Boston  suf 
fer 'd  in  the  Stamp  Act  1765  and  went  home  for  Redress. 
The  Ministry  put  him  off,  till  he  should  obtain  Governor 
Hutchinson's  Recommendation,  and  indeed  it  was  finally 
referred  to  the  Governor  to  provide  for  him  some  provin 
cial  office.  It  has  not  been  done.  Mr.  Storer  to  have  a 

1  The  American  Revolution,  I,  170.     Sir  George  Otto  Trevelyan,  Bart.     New 
York,  1899:  Longmans,  Green  and  Co. 

2  Life  of  Hutchinson,  273.     Hosmer. 

3  Annals,  174-5.     Morse. 

4  Diary,  I,  380. 


COMMITTEES  OF  SAFETY  FORMED  285 

Rod  over  &c.  procured  18  Letters  of  Lt.  Gov.  Oliver  and 
half  a  dozen  of  Governor  Hutch,  to  one  of  the  Secretaries 
of  some  of  the  Ministerial  Boards  in  London,  as  a  specimen 
of  their  Correspondence  for  15  years  past,  urging  and  recom 
mending  the  present  arbitrary  Government  over  the  Colonies. 
The  Governors  Hutchinson  and  Oliver  were  last  year  given  to 
understand  that  Mr.  Storer  had  them  in  his  power  by  means 
of  a  Collection  of  these  Letters,  and  that  the  only  Condition 
of  not  exposing  them  was  his  being  provided  for.  The  matter 
was  neglected.  Judge  Oliver  now  here  once  took  occasion  to 
ask  the  Governor  whether  there  was  any  Danger  &c.  when  the 
Governor  said  he  was  under  no  Apprehensions.  The  Judge 
says,  he  himself  apprehended  both  for  Governor  Hutchinson 
and  especially  for  his  Brother,  the  Lieutenant-Go vernor,  who 
was  greatly  exasperated  in  the  Time  of  the  Stamp  Act." 

In  the  budget  was  Paxton's  letter  praying  for  troops,  one 1 
from  another  source  proposing  a  "Patrician  Order,"  and  one 
that  excited  special  wrath,  in  which  Hutchinson  observes: 

I  never  think  of  the  measures  necessary  for  the  peace 
and  good  order  of  the  Colonies  without  pain;  there  must  be 
an  abridgement  of  what  are  called  English  liberties.  I  relieve 
myself  by  considering  that  in  a  remove  from  the  state  of 
nature  to  the  most  perfect  state  of  government,  there  must 
be  a  great  restraint  of  natural  liberty.  I  doubt  whether  it 
is  possible  to  project  a  system  of  government  in  which  a 
colony  3000  miles  distant  from  the  parent  state,  shall  enjoy 
all  the  liberty  of  the  parent  state.  I  am  certain  I  have  never 
yet  seen  the  projection.  I  wish  the  good  of  the  Colony  when 
I  wish  to  see  some  further  restraint  of  liberty  rather  than  the 
connexion  with  the  parent  state  should  be  broken;  for  I  am 
sure  such  a  breach  must  prove  the  ruin  of  the  Colony.  Par 
don  me  this  excursion,  it  really  proceeds  from  the  state  of 
mind  into  which  our  perplexed  affairs  often  throws  me. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  &c,2 

1  Hist,  of  the  U.  S.,  Ill,  368.     Bryant  and  Gay. 

2  Life  of  Hutchinson,  4i36-7.     Hosmer. 


286    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Taken  in  its  context,  and  accepting  Hutchinson's  state 
ment  that  there  was  no  collusion  between  the  several  writers, 
the  expression  concerning  English  liberties  might  pass  as 
a  mere  personal  opinion.  The  people,  however,  were  now 
convinced,  if  they  had  not  been  before,  he  could  never  be 
made  a  lever  to  work  on  the  British  Government  and  a 
party  sprang  up  determined  on  forcing  him  out  of  office. 
A  resolve,  requesting  his  removal,  was  accordingly  drawn 
and  l  voted  upon,  with  the  result  of  15  yeas,  5  nays,  in  the 
Council,  and  83  yeas,  28  nays,  in  the  House.  This  paper 
was  at  once  forwarded  to  Franklin,  who  made  it  over  to 
the  Secretary  of  State,  who  sent  it  to  the  King,  who  laid  it 
before  the  Privy  Council.2  Wm.  Whateley,  the  banker,  a 
brother  of  the  late  under  Secretary,  meanwhile  accused 
Lord  Temple,  Pitt's  brother-in-law,  of  abstracting  the 
letters.  A  duel  followed  between  John  Temple  and  Mr. 
Whateley,  before  Franklin,  who  was  out  of  town,  could 
publish  a  note  3  in  which,  after  stating  the  Secretary  had 
never  had  the  letters  and  naturally  Mr.  Temple  could 
not  have  taken  them  from  him,  he  continues,  the  letters 
were  "not  of  the  nature  of  private  letters  between  friends. 
They  were  written  by  public  officers  to  persons  in  public 
stations,  on  public  affairs,  and  intended  to  procure  public 
measures;  they  were  therefore  handed  to  other  public  per 
sons  who  might  be  influenced  by  them  to  produce  those 
measures.  Their  tendency  was  to  incense  the  mother- 
country  against  her  colonies,  and,  by  the  steps  recommended, 
to  widen  the  breach;  which  they  effected.  —  The  chief 
caution  expressed  with  regard  to  privacy,  was,  to  keep  their 
contents  from  the  colony  agents;  who  the  writers  appre 
hended  might  return  them,  or  copies  of  them  to  America. 
That  apprehension  was,  it  seems,  well  founded;  for  the  first 
agent  who  laid  his  hands  on  them,  thought  it  his  duty  to 
transmit  them  to  his  constituents. 

Craven  Street,  Dec,  25,  1773." 

1  Life  of  Hutchinson,  270.     Hosmer.         J  Our  Country,  II,  69-1.     Leasing. 
*  Annals,  171.     Morse. 


CHAPTER  IX 

DEADLOCK  OVER  THE  TEA  SHIPS.      BOSTON  TEA  PARTY 

ALL  this  time  the  East  India  Company  was  feeling  its 
lack  of  a  market.  Seventeen  million  pounds  of  tea1 
are  said  to  have  been  heaped  up  in  its  warehouses  await 
ing  American  buyers.  The  members  had  been  doubtful  of 
Lord  North's  scheme  from  the  first,  and  would  have 
preferred  the  old  method  of  paying  an  export  tax  and 
assessing  it  in  the  price  to  the  consumer.  The  company, 
however,  was  much  concerned  at  this  moment,  lest  it  should 
forfeit  its  charter;  irregularities  in  India  having  been  made 
a  pretext  for  investigation,  and  Lord  Clive  at  once  censured, 
thanked,  and  pardoned.2  Rather  than  do  anything  to  incur 
the  King's  displeasure,  the  company  let  matters  for  a  time 
take  their  course,  but  at  length,  threatened  with  bank 
ruptcy,  the  members  resolved  tea  should  be  sent  out  at  all 
hazards.  The  people  of  the  Colony  meanwhile  were  as  set 
as  ever  in  their  determination  to  abstain  from  its  use.  A 
rhyme  of  the  day  runs : 3 

Rouse  every  generous,  thoughtful  mind; 
The  rising  danger  flee: 
If  you  would  lasting  freedom  find, 
Now,  then,  abandon  tea. 

Scorn  to  be  bound  with  golden  chains, 
Though  they  allure  the  sight: 
Bid  them  defiance,  if  they  claim 
Our  freedom  and  birthright. 

1  Our  Country,  II,  698.     Lossing.  2  Life  of  Fox,  436.     Trevelyan. 

3  Colonial  Days,  93.     Markham. 

287 


288    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Shall  we  our  freedom  give  away, 
And  all  our  comfort  place 
In  drinking  of  outlandish  tea, 
Only  to  please  our  taste? 

Forbid  it,  Heaven!  let  us  be  wise, 
And  seek  our  country's  good; 
Nor  ever  let  a  thought  arise 
That  tea  should  be  our  food. 

Since  we  so  great  a  plenty  have 
Of  all  that's  for  our  health, 
Shall  we  that  blasted  herb  receive, 
Impoverishing  our  wealth? 

Adieu,  away,  O  Tea!  begone! 
Salute  our  taste  no  more; 
Though  thou  art  coveted  by  some 
Who're  destined  to  be  poor. 

To  every  warning  Lord  North  1  said:  "It  is  to  no  pur 
pose  making  objections,  for  the  King  will  have  it  so.  He 
means  to  try  the  question  with  America."  The  attempt 
was  to  begin  with  Boston;  Bohea2  was  to  be  sent  chiefly, 
together  with  Singlo,  for  which  the  company  hoped  to  create 
a  market,  since  it  was  a  tea  it  carried  to  a  far  greater 
extent  than  other  nations,  and  being  more  perishable2  than 
some,  if  the  Colonies  would  but  give  it  their  preference,  the 
company  could  enjoy  a  monopoly  of  sale.  The  American 
agents  were  to  receive  six  per  cent,  commission 2  on  the  gross 
sales  and  remit 2  net  gains  in  good  money  every  two  months, 
after  paying  cartage,  storage,  etc.  The  company  stood  the 
risk  of  the  sea,  and  on  receipt  of  a  certificate  of  lading,  the 
agents  paid  the  "tribute"2  in  London.  Many  felt  it  would 
be  a  successful  venture  if  only,  as  exporters,  the  company 
stood  the  tax.  During  July2  there  were  frequent  meetings2 
at  the  East  India  house  arranging  details,  and  August  20th 
the  company  was  duly  licensed  to  send  1700  large  chests  of 

1  Our  Country,  II,  698.     Lossing. 

2  Tea  Leaves,  245,  242,  232,  225,  XVI,  235.     Drake. 


THE   BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  289 

Bohea,  600,000  pounds'  weight,  to  Boston,  New  York,  Phila 
delphia,  and  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  reserving  not 
less  than  ten  millions  of  pounds  as  required.1  It  was  esti 
mated  that  one-third  of  the  Colonists,  one  million  souls, 
drank  tea  twice  daily,1  and  there  was  some  competition  for 
the  place  of  American  agents,  English  friends  offering  secur 
ity  without  hesitation.  As  it  chanced,  the  Boston  con 
signees,  with  the  single  exception  of  Benjamin  Faneuil, 
nephew  of  Peter,  were  more  or  less  related1  to  one  another; 
Jonathan  Clark  of  the  Boston  house  —  Richard  Clark  & 
Sons,  tea  merchants  —  then  in  London,  made  one;  Joshua 
Winslow,  late  of  Nova  Scotia,  son-in-law  of  Commodore 
Loring,  was  another;  Richard  Clark,  Sr.,  had  married  a 
daughter  of  Edward  Winslow  of  Boston  and  was  also  an 
uncle  of  the  Hutchinson  brothers,  Thomas  and  Elisha, 
who  completed  the  number.  It  was  decided  to  send  four 
ships  to  Boston,  laden  chiefly  with  Bohea  and  Singlo,  as 
already  stated,  together  with  some  Congo,  Hyson,  and  a 
little  Souchong.  If  rejected  there,  they  might  pass  to  Hali 
fax,  l  but  this  decision  of  the  company  was  reached  too  late 
to  be  of  any  service.  These  ships  were:  the  Dartmouth,1 
named  for  a  portion  of  New  Bedford,  Captain  James  Hall, 
114  chests,  Francis  Rotch,  a  young  Quaker  of  twenty -six, 
a  native  of  Nan  tucket,  being  owner;  the  Eleanor,1  80  whole, 
34  half  chests,  Captain  James  Bruce,  John  Rowe,  part 
owner;  the  brig  Beaver,1  Captain  Hezekiah  Coffin,  116 
chests,  owned  in  Nantucket  in  part  by  Francis  Rotch;  and 
the  brigantine  William,1  Captain  Joseph  Royal  Loring,  58 
chests,  owned  by  the  Clarks. 

October  21st,  a  circular  letter1  from  the  Massachusetts 
Committee  of  Correspondence  spoke  strongly  against  the 
measure;  the  other  Colonies  were  equally  roused.  In 
New  York  l  it  was  asked  what  odds  whether  Americans 
were  forced  to  swallow  a  hot  red  poker  or  a  red  hot  poker. 
A  consignee  there,  Abraham  Lott,  Esq.,  having  received 
a  threatening  letter,  signed  Cassius,  wrote  back  to  England 

1  Tea  Leaves,  245,  247,  200,  210,  304,  350,  348,  357-8,  XV,  XVI.     Drake. 


290    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

in  November,  "The  people  would  as  soon  buy  poison  as  tea 
subject  to  tax,  and  are  determined  not  to  take  what  they 
call  the  *  nauseous  draught."  In  Philadelphia  the  tax 
was  resented  as  a  "badge  of  slavery,"  x  tending  to  make 
their  Assemblies  "cyphers,"1  but  happily,  the  agents 
there  agreed  frankly  to  tell  the  people,  when  themselves 
informed  fully,  as  to  the  tax — whether  it  was  payable  in 
England  or  America — and  promised  to  be  no  party  to  enslav 
ing  America,  thus  giving  general  satisfaction.  Meanwhile 
a  committee  of  tar  and  feathers  notified  the  pilots  on  the 
Delaware  that  they  might  tell  Captain  Ayers  of  the  Polly, 
if2  he  should  persist  in  coming  to  Philadelphia,  he  might 
expect  to  have  "a  halter  around  his  neck,  ten  gallons  of 
liquid  tar  scattered  over  his  pate,  with  the  feathers  of  a 
dozen  wild  geese  laid  over  that  to  enliven  his  appearance." 
Nightly  discussions  were  held  in  Boston.  On  Novem 
ber  2d  Mr.  Clark,  who3  lived  on  Chapman  Place,  off  School 
Street,  in  a  two-story  brick  house  with  dormer  windows 
and  a  small  courtyard  in  front,  was  roused  from  sleep 
about  1  A.M.  It  was  a  bright1  moonlight  night,  and  look 
ing  from  the  window  he  saw  two  men  inside  the  gate.  One 
of  them  said  he  had  brought  a  letter  from  the  country, 
which  he  handed  to  a  servant  at  the  door.  It  ran: 

BOSTON,  1st  Nov.,  1773. 
Richard  Clark  &  Son: 

The  Freemen  of  this  Province  understand,  from  good 
authority,  that  there  is  a  quantity  of  tea  consigned  to  your 
house  by  the  East  India  company;  which  is  destructive  to 
the  happiness  of  every  well-wisher  to  his  country.  It  is 
therefore  expected  that  you  personally  appear  at  Liberty 
Tree,  on  Wednesday  next,  at  twelve  o'clock  at  noonday,  to 
make  a  public  resignation  of  your  commission,  agreeable 
to  a  notification  of  this  day  for  that  purpose. 

Fail  not  upon  your  peril.  O.  C. 

1  Tea  Leaves,  XVI,  273,  276,  282.     Drake. 

2  Our  Country,  II,  700.     Lossing. 
8  Landmarks,  334,  65.     Drake. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  291 

The  next  morning  John  Rowe,1  walking  out,  spied  an 
advertisement  stuck  up  at  almost  every  corner :  - 

To  the  Freemen  of  this  and  the  Neighboring  Towns,  - 

Genm,  you  are  desired  to  meet  at  Liberty  Tree  this 
day  at  Twelve  of  Clock  at  noon,  then  and  there  to  hear 
the  Persons  to  whom  the  Tea  shipped  by  the  East  India 
company  is  consigned,  make  a  publick  Resignation  of 
their  Office  as  Consignees  upon  Oath  and  also  swear  that 
they  will  re-ship  any  Tea  that  may  be  Consigned  to  them  by 
said  Company  by  the  first  Vessell  sailing  for  London. 
Boston,  Nov.  3d,  1773,  O.C.  Secretary. 

The  same  date  the  North  End  caucus,  meeting  at  the 
Green  Dragon,  put  Dr.  Thomas  Young,  Dr.  Benjamin 
Church,  and  Dr.  Joseph  Warren  on  a  committee  to  draw 
up  a  resolution  to  be  read  to  the  consignees  at  noon  of 
the  3d.  "This  day,"  says  Rowe,1  "the  inhabitants  of 
the  town  are  alarmed,  occasioned  by  the  advertisement  of 
yesterday.  The  gentlemen  to  whom  the-  tea  was  supposed 
to  be  consigned  did  not  obey  the  summons,  and  make  their 
appearance  at  Liberty  Tree,  upon  which  the  Sons  of  Lib 
erty  appointed  a  committee  to  go  and  wait  on  them  to  know 
their  determination,  upon  which  the  committee  with  a  large 
concourse  of  people  went  from  Liberty  Tree  to  the  store  of 
Mr.  Richd  Clark  and  Sons  at  the  bottom  of  King  Street, 
where  they  found  Mr.  Richd.  Clark,  Mr.  Benjm.  Faneuil, 
the  Governor's  two  sons  [Thomas  and  Elisha],  and  Mr. 
Jos.  Winslow  of  Marshfield,  who  are  the  gentlemen  these 
teas  are  supposed  to  be  consigned  to.  There  were  several 
of  their  friends  there  with  them,  Colo.  Hatch  of  Dorchester, 
Judge  Lee  of  Cambridge,  Mr.  Nat.  Cary,  Mr.  Thos.  Laugh- 
ton,  Mr.  John  Winslow,  and  many  others.  Mr.  Molli- 
neaux,  as  chairman  of  this  committee,  then  read  to  them  a 
paper  [speaking,  it  is  said,  from  a  window  on  the  stairs], 
and  produced  another  which  they  required  them  to  sign, 
&c.  Mr.  Richd  Clark  and  the  other  gentlemen  [asked 

1  Diary. 


292    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

them  from  whom  they  came,  "The  whole  People."  The 
consignees  then]  gave  them  for  answer,  they  would  not 
comply  with  their  request,  or  words  to  that  purpose;  this 
was  an  unexpected  answer  to  them,  and  has  given  them 
much  displeasure.  The  principal  people  that  accompanied 
Mr.  Molineaux  were  as  follows:  Mr.  Saml.  Adams,  Mr. 
Wm.  Dennie,  Mr.  John  Pitts,  Col.  Heath  of  Roxbury,  Dr. 
Church,  Dr.  Warren,  Dr.  Young,  Capt.  Jno.  Matchet, 
Capt.  Hopkins,  Nat  Barber,  Gabriel  Johonnot,  Ezekl 
Chever,  and  about  five  hundred  more  as  near  as  I  could 
guess." 

Of  this  visit  we  have  Mr.  Clark's  own  1  account.  "You 
may  well  judge  that  none  of  us  ever  entertained  the  least 
thoughts  of  obeying  the  summons  sent  us  to  attend  at 
Liberty  Tree.  After  a  consultation  amongst  ourselves  and 
friends,  we  judged  it  best  to  continue  together,  and  to  en 
deavor,  with  the  assistance  of  a  few  friends,  to  oppose  the 
designs  of  the  mob,  if  they  should  come  to  offer  us  any  insult 
or  injury.  .  .  .  We  were  so  happy  as  to  be  supported  by 
a  number  of  gentlemen  of  the  first  rank.  About  1  O'clock, 
a  large  body  of  people  appeared  at  the  head  of  King  Street, 
and  came  down  to  the  end,  and  halted  opposite  our  ware 
house.  Nine  persons  came  from  them  up  into  our  count 
ing-room."  The  paper  presented  to  the  consignees  for 
signature;  Engaged  by  a  solemn  promise  that  they  "would 
not  land  or  pay  any  duty  on  any  tea  that  should  be  sent 
by  the  East  I.  Com.y  but  that  they  would  send  back  the 
tea  to  England  in  the  same  bottom,  not  breaking  bulk; 
which  extravagant  demand,"  continues  Clark,  "being 
firmly  refused,  and  treated  with  a  proper  contempt  by  all 
of  us,  Mr.  Molineux  then  said  that  since  we  had  refused 
their  most  reasonable  demands,  we  must  expect  to  feel,  on 
our  first  appearance,  the  utmost  weight  of  the  peoples'  resent 
ment,  upon  which  he  and  the  rest  of  the  Comtee.  left  our 
counting-room  and  warehouse,  and  went  to  and  mixed  with 
the  multitude  that  continued  before  our  warehouse." 

1  Tea  Leaves,  284-5.     Drake. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  293 

Clark's  final  answer  was,  "I  shall  have  nothing  to  do 
with  you;"  on  hearing  which  the  hangers-about 1  cried, 
"Out  with  them!"  He  continues: 

Soon  after  this,  the  mob  having  made  one  or  two  reverse 
motions  to  some  distance,  we  perceived  them  hastening  their 
pace  towards  the  store,  on  which  we  ordered  our  servant  to 
shut  the  outward  door;  but  this  he  could  not  effect,  altho 
assisted  by  some  other  persons,  among  whom  was  Nathaniel 
Hatch,  Esqr.,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Inferior  Court  for  this 
country,  and  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  the  County.  This 
genm  made  all  possible  exertions  to  stem  the  current  of 
the  mob,  not  only  by  declaring  repeatedly,  and  with  a  loud 
voice,  that  he  was  a  magistrate,  and  commanded  the  people, 
by  virtue  of  his  office,  and  in  his  Majesty's  name,  to  desist 
from  all  riotous  proceedings,  and  to  disperse,  but  also  by 
assisting  in  person;  but  the  people  not  only  made  him  a 
return  of  insulting  &  reproachful  words,  but  prevented 
his  endeavors,  by  force  and  blows,  to  get  our  doors  shut, 
upon  which  Mr.  Hatch,  with  some  other  of  our  friends, 
retreated  to  our  counting-room.  Soon  after  this,  the  outward 
doors  of  the  store  were  taken  off  their  hinges  by  the  mob, 
and  carried  to  some  distance;  immediately  a  number  of  the 
mob  rushed  into  the  warehouse,  and  endeavored  to  force 
into  the  counting-room,  but  as  this  was  in  another  story, 
and  the  stair-case  leading  to  it  narrow,  we,  with  our  friends 
-  about  twenty  in  number  —  by  some  vigorous  efforts, 
prevented  their  accomplishing  their  design.  The  mob 
appeared  in  a  short  time  to  be  dispersed,  and  after  a  few 
more  faint  attacks,  they  contented  themselves  with  block 
ing  us  up  in  the  store  for  the  space  of  about  an  hour  and  a 
half,  at  which  time,  perceiving  that  much  the  greatest  part 
of  them  were  drawn  off,  and  those  that  remained  not  for 
midable,  we,  with  our  friends,  left  the  warehouse,  walked 
up  the  length  of  King  Street  together,  and  then  went  to 
our  respective  houses,  without  any  molestation,  saving 
some  insulting  behavior  from  a  few  despicable  persons.1 

1  Tea  Leaves,  XXVIII,  285-6.     Drake. 


294     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

[This  may  refer  to  the  flinging  of  mud,  alluded  to  in  a  pri 
vate  letter.1]  The  night  following,  a  menacing  letter  was 
thrust  under  the  door  of  Mr.  Faneuil's  house  on  Tremont 
Street;  this  was  to  be  communicated  to  the  other  con 
signees  with  a  design  to  intimidate  them  from  executing 
their  trust.  It  ran:1 

Gentlemen: 

It  is  currently  reported  that  you  are  in  the  extremest 
anxiety  respecting  your  standing  with  the  good  people  of 
this  Town  and  Province,  as  commissioners  of  the  sale  of 
the  monopolized  and  dutied  tea.  We  do  not  wonder  in 
the  least  that  your  apprehensions  are  terrible,  when  the 
most  enlightened,  humane  &  conscientious  community  on 
the  earth  view  you  in  the  light  of  tigers  or  mad  dogs,  whom 
the  public  safety  obliges  them  to  destroy.  Long  have  this 
people  been  irreconcilable  to  the  idea  of  spilling  human 
blood,  on  almost  any  occasion  whatever;  but  they  have 
lately  seen  a  penitential  thief  [Levi  Ames,  October  22d2] 
suffer  death  for  pilfering  a  few  pounds  from  scattering 
individuals.  You  boldly  avow  a  resolution  to  bear  a  prin 
cipal  part  in  the  robbery  of  every  inhabitant  of  this  coun 
try,  in  the  present  and  future  ages,  of  everything  dear  and 
interesting  to  them.  Are  there  no  laws  in  the  Book  of  God 
and  nature  that  enjoin  such  miscreants  to  be  cut  off  from 
among  the  people,  as  troublers  of  the  whole  congregation. 
Yea,  verily,  there  are  laws  and  officers  to  put  them  into 
execution,  which  you  can  neither  corrupt,  intimidate,  nor 
escape,  and  whose  resolution  to  bring  you  to  condign  pun 
ishment  you  can  only  avoid  by  a  speedy  imitation  of  your 
brethren  in  Philadelphia.  This  people  are  still  averse  to 
precipitate  your  fate,  but  in  case  of  much  longer  delay  in 
complying  with  their  indispensable  demands,  you  will  not 
fail  to  meet  the  just  rewards  of  your  avarice  &  insolence. 
Remember,  gentm,  this  is  the  last  warning  you  are  ever 
to  expect  from  the  insulted,  abused,  and  most  indignant 

1  Tea  Leaves,  262,  292.     Drake.  -  Evening  Post,  Oct.  25,  1773. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  295 

vindicators   of   violated   liberty   in   the  Town   of   Boston. 
Thursday  evening,  9  o'clock.     November  4,  1773, 

O.  C.  Secy,  per  order. 
To  Messrs,  the  Tea  Commissioners. 
Directed  to  B—  F—  Esq. 

Friday  was  Guy  Fawkes  Day  and  Faneuil  concealed  him 
self  for  two  or  three  hours,  having  heard  that  his  house  was 
to  be  broken  into  one  night  that  week.  Notwithstanding 
his  seventy-two  years,  the  poor  old  gentleman  does  not 
appear  to  have  lacked  courage,  and,  despite  a  natural 
uneasiness,  continued  firm  in  his  resolution  to  sleep  under 
his  own  roof. l 

Friday  morning  eight  Resolves2  were  passed  in  Boston 
town  meeting  with  reference  to  the  tea  tax  and  the  best 
way  to  meet  it.  An  alleged  Tradesmen's  Protest  against 
the  patriots'  course,  printed  by  Ezekiel  Russell,  was  pre 
sented  on  this  occasion.  But  when  the  tradesmen  pres 
ent,  four  hundred  in  number,  were  desired  to  collect  on 
the  south  side  of  the  hall,  and  asked  if  it  expressed  their 
will,  they  declared  indignantly  it  was  none  of  theirs  but  came 
from  Tory  sources  and  was  scandalous.  One  present 
stated  that  he  had  seen,  with  his  own  eyes,  Charles  Paxton, 
commissioner  of  customs,  giving  the  Protests  away  the 
day  before  in  King  Street. 

About  1  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  committee  of  the 
selectmen,  John  Hancock,  Esq.,  Mr.  Henderson  Inches, 
Benjamin  Austin,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Jona.  Mason  were  deputed 
to  call  on  Mr.  Clark  and  ask,  in  the  interest  of  good  order, 
that  the  consignees  should  resign.  The  Messrs.  Clark 
were  disposed  to  defer  a  reply  until  Monday,  when  the  Gov 
ernor's  sons  would  have  returned  from  Milton.  In  any 
case,  they  assured  the  committee  they  should  require  an 
authenticated  copy  of  the  town's  vote.  Sam  Adams, 
Win.  Molineux,  and  Dr.  Warren  then  formed  a  fresh  com 
mittee  to  remind  them  they  were  not  joint  factors  and 

1  Tea  Leaves,  294.     Drake.  2  Boston  Town  Records,  1770-77,  141-5. 


296     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

"it  was  supposed  they  could  determine,  for  themselves, 
and  therefore  it  was  the  expectation  of  the  Town  that  they 
return  an  immediate  answer."  Leaving  the  consignees 
to  frame  their  reply,  the  committee  returned  to  Faneuil 
Hall,  when  a  fresh  committee,  the  Hon.  John  Hancock, 
Esq.,  Mr.  John  Pitts,  Mr.  Sam  Adams,  Dr.  Joseph  Warren, 
Mr.  William  Powell,  and  Mr.  Nathaniel  Appleton  were 
chosen  to  "repair  to  Milton  and  acquaint  Messrs.  Thomas 
and  Elisha  Hutchinson,  with  the  request  of  the  Town,  that 
they  immediately  resign  their  appointment." 
The  letter  that  follows  was  then  delivered: l 

BOSTON,  November  5,  1773. 
Sir: 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  comply  with  the  request  of 
the  Town,  signified  to  us  this  Day  by  their  Committee,  as 
we  know  not  what  terms  the  Teas  if  any  part  of  it  should 
be  sent  to  our  care,  will  come  out  on,  and  what  obligations 
either  of  a  moral  or  pecuniary  nature,  we  may  be  under  to 
fulfil  the  trust  that  may  be  devolved  on  us.  When  we  are 
acquainted  with  these  Circumstances  we  shall  be  better 
qualified  to  give  a  definite  answer  to  the  request  of  the 
Town. 

We  are 
Sir 

Your  most  humble  Serv*. 
Richard  Clark  &  Sons. 
Benjamin  Faneuil,  Junr.,  for 
himself  &  Josha   Winslow — 
To 

The  Hon'ble  John  Hancock,  Esq. 
Moderator  of  a  Town  Meeting 
at  Faneuil  Hall. 

This  was  voted  Not  Satisfactory. 

The  subject  was  approached  by  the  two  parties  from 
opposite  sides.  As  representing  an  old,  established,  mer- 

1  Boston  Town  Records,  1770--77,  145. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  297 

cantile  house,  Mr.  Clark  seems  to  have  regarded  it  from 
a  commercial  point  and  been  loath  to  break  faith  with 
his  English  correspondents.  To  the  townsmen  it  was 
wholly  a  burning  governmental  issue,  which  concerned  their 
remotest  posterity. 

On  Saturday  Thomas  Hutchinson's  l  reply  was  read. 

Sir: 

I  know  nothing  relative  to  the  Teas  referred  to  in  the 
request  or  Vote  of  the  Town,  except  that  one  of  my  Friends 
has  signified  to  me  by  Letter,  that  part  of  it  he  had  reason 
to  believe  would  be  Consigned  to  me  and  my  Brother 
Jointly.  .  .  .  Under  these  circumstances,  I  can  give  no 
other  answer  to  the  Town  at  present,  than  that  if  the  Teas 
should  arrive  &  we  should  be  appointed  Factors,  we  shall 
then  be  sufficiently  informed  to  answer  the  request  of  the 
Town- 

I  am  for  my  brother  &  self 

Sir  your  humble  Servant 

T.  HUTCHINSON   junr. 
Hon'ble  John  Hancock  Esq.     Moderator  of  a  Town  Meet8. 

A  cry  was  immediately  raised,  "To  arms!  to  arms!" 
It  was  received  with  clapping,2  but  hushed.  These  letters 
were  then  voted  by  the  impatient  meeting  to  be  "daringly 
affrontive. "  The  consignees,  learning  they  condemned 
their  reply,  and  parted  without  declaring  their  purpose, 
were  more  alarmed  than  ever. 

On  November  11,  Hutchinson  despatched  the  follow 
ing  notice : 2 

Massachusetts  Bay,  By  the  Governor. 
To  Colonel  John  Hancock,  Captain  of  the  Governor's 
Company  of  Cadets  etc. 

The  Cadet  company,  under  your  command,  having 
signalized  itself  heretofore  upon  a  very  necessary  occasion 
[the  stamp  riots],  and  the  late  tumultuous  proceedings  in 

1  Boston  Town  Records,  1770-77,  146. 

2  Tea  Leaves,  XXXI,  XXXIII.     Drake. 


298    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

the  town  of  Boston  requiring  that  more  than  usual  caution 
should  be  taken  at  this  time  for  the  preservation  of  peace, 
I  think  it  proper  that  you  should  forthwith  summon  each 
person  belonging  to  the  company  to  be  ready,  and  to  appear 
in  arms  at  such  place  of  parade  as  you  think  fit,  whensoever 
there  may  be  a  tumultuous  assembly  of  the  people,  in  vio 
lation  of  the  laws,  in  order  to  their  being  aiding  and  assist 
ing  to  the  civil  Magistrate  as  occasion  may  require. 

Despite  the  confused  state  of  affairs,  the  course  of  the 
seasons  took  its  even  way,  and  Rowe1  enters,  November  11, 
"The  geese  flew  to  the  s°ward  yesterday."  November 
17th  he  continues,  "This  morning  Capt.  Scot  arrived  from 
London;  [with]  advice  that  Hall,  Loring,  Coffin,  and  Bruce 
are  to  bring  the  tea  for  the  East  India  company." 

Jonathan  Clark  seems  to  have  come  with  Scott,  for 
that  night  a  family  party2  gathered  at  Mr.  Richard 
Clark's  to  welcome  home  the  traveller  and  tell  him  what 
difficulties  had  come  up  over  the  tea.  As  they  talked,  a 
violent  beating  at  the  door  and  tooting  of  horns  startled 
the  household.  The  ladies  were  hurried  to  safe  quarters, 
and  the  men  took  posts  on  the  lower  floor;  the  yard  filled, 
and  when  warned  from  an  upper  window  to  go  away, 
stones  were  hurled.  A  pistol  was  then  discharged  on  the 
mob  without  effect,  after  which  much  damage  was  done 
to  the  panes  of  glass.  At  length,  in  two  hours'  time,  some 
cooler-headed  patriots  broke  up  the  band.  Rowe  l  says 
of  it:  "Last  night  a  considerable  body  of  people  paraded 
thro'  the  streets  and  attacked  the  house  of  Mr.  Richard 
Clark.  One  of  his  family  fired  a  gun  from  the  house,  but 
luckily  did  no  hurt.  They  broke  all  his  windows  and 
window  frames,  but  very  little  other  damage.  This  morn 
ing  a  town  meeting  was  called  on  this  and  the  tea  affair." 
Thomas  Newell 3  tells  us : 

Nov.   18,  Town  Meeting.     A  Committee  was  appointed 

1  Diary. 

2  Tea  Leaves,  XXXIV.     Drake. 

3  Diary  of  Thomas  Newell.     Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Pro.,  February,  1859. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  299 

to  acquaint  the  tea-commissioners  it  was  the  desires  of  the 
town  that  they  would  now  give  a  final  answer  to  their  request; 
viz.,  whether  they  would  resign  their  appointment.  Upon 
which  they  sent  into  town  the  following  letter,  viz.: 

Sir,  —  In  answer  to  the  message  we  have  this  day 
received  from  the  town  we  beg  leave  to  say  that  we  have 
not  yet  received  any  orders  from  the  East  India  company 
respecting  the  expected  teas,  but  we  are  now  further 
acquainted  that  our  friends  in  England  have  entered  into 
penal  engagements  in  our  behalf,  merely  of  a  commercial 
nature,  which  puts  it  out  of  our  power  to  comply  with  the 
request  of  the  town. 

We  are,  Sir,  your  most  humble  servants, 

Richard  Clark  &  Sons. 

Benj.  Faneuil,  Jr.,  for  self  and 

Joshua  Winslow,  Esq. 

Elisha  Hutchinson,  for  my  Brother  and  self. 
Hon.   John   Hancock,   Esq.,   Moderator   of  Town-meeting 
assembled  at  Faneuil  Hall. 

November  19th,  the  consignees  l  petitioned  the  Gov 
ernor  and  Council  relative  to  resigning  and  placing  the  tea 
under  the  Council's  protection.  Here  the  matter  rested 
for  a  day  or  two.  Monday,  November  22d,  the  Commit 
tees  of  Correspondence  of 1  Dorchester,  Brookline,  Roxbury, 
and  Cambridge  met  the  Boston  Committee  in  the  select 
men's  room  at  Faneuil  Hall.  Having  agreed  to  do  all 
they  could  to  prevent  the  landing  or  sale  of  the  tea, 
they  acquainted  the  other  towns  with  the  position  they  had 
taken.  Soon  after  this  Charlestown,  because  of  its  zeal, 
was  added  to  this  inner  group,  and  daily  meetings  were 
held,  "like  a  little  Senate,"  as  the  Governor  pettishly  com 
plained.1  "Americans!  defeat  this  last  effort  of  a  most 
pernicious,  expiring  faction,"  urged  the  Gazette  of  this 
date,  "and  you  may  sit  under  your  own  vines  and  fig  trees, 
and  none  shall,  hereafter,  dare  to  make  you  afraid." 

1  Tea  Leaves,  312,  XXXVIII.     Drake. 


300    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Little  Brookline  was  indeed  awake  to  the  occasion  and 
at  a  town  meeting  held  on  the  26th  added  four  names  to 
the  Standing  Committee  of  Correspondence,  viz.,  Major 
Wm.  Thompson,  Capt.  Elisha  Gardner,  Capt.  Thomas 
Aspinwall,  and  "Leut."  John  Heath,  desiring  them1  to  "git 
all  the  Intelligence  from  the  Committee  of  Corrispondence  of 
the  Town  of  Boston  Respecting  the  Landing  &  Sale  of  the 
East  India  Company's  Tea  and  make  Report."  The  town 
clerk  was  asked  to  send  a  copy  of  "ye  Resolves"  to  the  Com 
mittee  of  correspondence  in  Boston,  which  were  as  follows : 

At  a  Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Brook 
lyn  from  Friday  the  26th  To  Monday  the  29th  of  Nov'r. 
To  consider  what  was  propper  for  this  Town  to  do,  relative 
to  the  large  Quantitys  of  Tea  belonging  to  the  India  Com 
pany,  hourly  expected  to  arrive  in  this  Province,  Subject 
to  any  American  Duty. 

1st.  The  Town  came  unanimously  into  the  following 
Resolves  Viz.  That  the  Act  of  the  British  Parliament  im 
posing  a  Duty  on  Tea,  payable  in  America,  for  the  Express 
purpose  of  raising  a  Revenue,  is  unconstitutional,  has  a 
direct  Tendency  to  bring  the  Americans  into  Slavery,  and 
is  therefore  an  Intolerable  Grievance. 

2ly.  That  this  Grievance  which  has  been  so  Justly 
complained  of  by  the  Americans,  so  far  from  being  re 
dressed,  is  greatly  aggravated  by  another  Act,  passed  in 
the  last  sessions  of  Parliament  for  Benifit  and  Relief  of  the 
India  Company,  permitting  them  to  Export  their  Teas  to 
America  or  Forring  Parts,  free  of  all  custom  &  Dutyes 
usually  paid  in  Great  Britain,  but  Subject  to  the  Duty 
payable  in  America;  thus  have  the  Parliament  discovered 
the  most  glaring  Partiality  in  making  one  &  the  Same  Act 
to  operrate  for  the  Ease  &  Convenience  of  a  Few  of  the 
most  opulent  Subjects  in  Britain,  on  the  one  hand,  &  for 
the  Oppressions  of  Millions  of  Freeborn  &  most  loyal 
Inhabitants  of  America,  on  the  other. 

1  Brookline  Town  Records,  242-4. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  301 

Sly.  That  the  last  mentioned  Act,  can  be  considered 
no  otherwise  than  as  Subtle  Plan  of  the  Ministry  to  ensnare 
and  enslave  the  Americans,  and  that  whoever  shall  be  instru 
mental  in  carrying  the  Same  into  Execution,  is  in  the  Judge 
ment  of  this  Towne,  an  inevitable  Enemy  to  this  Country. 

4ly.  That  Richard  Clark  &  Son,  and  Thomas  &  Elisha 
Hutchinson  of  Boston  (who  brought  themselves  into  Con 
tempt  by  their  Conduct  in  the  Non  Importation  Time) 
and  the  other  Persons  appointed  Consignees  of  the  India 
Company's  Teas  in  Boston,  have  by  their  repeated  Refusal 
to  Resign  their  Appointment  and  send  Back  the  Said  Teas 
manifested  to  the  full  conviction  of  this  Town,  their  utter 
Disregard  to  the  Interest  &  welfare  of  this  their  native 
Country,  to  which  Such  unfeeling  Wretches  are  a  Disgrace 
and  have  discovered  the  most  sordid  Attachment  to  their 
private  Interest,  and  have  incurred  the  highest  Displeasure 
of  the  good  People  of  this  Province  in  general,  £  of  the 
Inhabitants  of  this  Towne  in  particular  who  are  determined 
to  afford  them  not  the  Least  Favour  or  Protection  now  that 
they  are  become  Fugitives  from  the  Just  Resentment  of 
their  affronted  Townsmen. 

5ly.  That  we  fully  approve  of  the  Proceedings,  £  Reso 
lutions  of  the  Town  of  Boston  on  this  Alarming  Occasion 
and  while  we  see  them  Earnestly  consenting  for  the  gen 
eral  Liberty  of  America,  Should  we  fold  our  Armes  £  Calmly 
look  on  we  should  be  Justly  chargeble  with  the  most  shame 
ful  Supeneness  &  criminal  Neglect  —  therefore  Resolved 

61y.  That  this  Town  are  ready  to  afforde  all  the  Assist 
ance  in  our  Power  to  the  Town  of  Boston,  &  will  hartily 
unite  with  them  and  the  Other  Towns  in  this  Province  to 
oppose  and  frustrate  this  most  detestable  and  dangerous 
Tea  Scheem  and  every  other  that  shall  Appear  to  us  to  be 
Subversive  of  the  Rights  and  Liberties  of  America,  and 
consequently  dishonorably  to  the  Crown  and  Dignity  of 
our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King. 

7ly.  That  whoever  shall  hereafter  presume  to  import 
any  Teas  into  this  Province  while  Subject  to  the  Odius 


302    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Duty  Shall  be  considered  &  treated  by  this  Town  as  an 
Enemy  to  his  Country. 
A  True  Copy.     Attest 

ISAAC  GARDNER,  T.  Clerk. 

In  this l  crisis  Dorchester,  Marblehead,  Roxbury, 
Charlestown,  Newburyport,  Maiden,  Lexington,  Leicester, 
Fitchburg,  Gloucester,  and  other  towns  loyally  stood  by 
Boston  and  their  birthrights. 

Comparing  old  diaries,  we  find  that  the  Dartmouth, 
Captain  Hall,  eight  weeks  out  from  London,  arrived  on 
Saturday2  evening,  November  27th,  bringing  as  cargo  114 
chests  of  the  so  much2  "detested"  East  India  Company's 
tea.  This  created  3  "great  noise." 

"Nov.  28 —  Sunday.  This  a.m.,"  continues3  Rowe, 
"was  brot  me  a  threatening  letter  signed  'Determined,' 
which  is  on  file.  This  agitated  my  mind,  and  I  did  not  go 
to  Church."  Notwithstanding  the  day,  the  selectmen1 — 
John  Scollay,  John  Hancock,  Timothy  Newell,  Thomas 
Newhall,  Samuel  Austin,  Oliver  Wendell,  John  Pitts,  and 
the  town  clerk,  Wm.  Cooper,  met  and  were  in  session  until 
9  P.M.1  As  a  result  the  shipmaster  was  ordered  by  a  com 
mittee  of  the  town  to  bring  up  his  vessel  and  unload  all  of 
his  cargo  except  the  tea.  The  committee  of  correspondence 
also  sat,1  and  obtained  young  Rotch's  promise  that  he  would 
not  enter  the  ship  at  the  customs  before  Tuesday.  A  mass 
meeting  of  the  towns  was  then  called  for  Monday  in  these  l 
words : 

A  part  of  the  tea  shipped  by  the  East  India  Company 
is  now  arrived  in  this  harbor,  and  we  look  upon  ourselves 
bound  to  give  you  the  earliest  intimation  of  it,  and  we  desire 
that  you  favor  us  with  your  company  at  Faneuil  Hall,  at  nine 
o'clock  to  morrow  forenoon,  there  to  give  us  your  advice  what 
steps  are  to  be  immediately  taken,  in  order  effectually  to 

1  Tea  Leaves,  LVI,  XLI,  XLII,  XLIII.     Drake. 

2  Diary.     Thomas  Newell.     November  29,  December  12. 

3  Diary.     Rowe.     November  28. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  303 

prevent  the  impending  evil,  and  we  request  you  to  urge  your 
friends  in  the  town,  to  which  you  belong,  to  be  in  readiness 
to  exert  themselves  in  the  most  resolute  manner,  to  assist 
this  town  in  its  efforts  for  saving  this  oppressed  country. 

"Nov.  29th.  This  morning,"  to  follow  l  Rowe  once 
more,  "there  were  papers  stuck  up  to  the  following  pur 
pose:  'FRIENDS,  BRETHREN,  COUNTRYMEN!  That 
worst  of  Plagues,  the  Detestable  TEA,  ship'd  for  this  Port 
by  the  East  India  Company,  is  now  arrived  in  this  harbor; 
the  Hour  of  Destruction  or  manly  Opposition  to  the 
Machinations  of  Tyranny  stares  you  in  the  Face;  every 
Friend  to  his  Country,  to  himself  and  Posterity  is  now  called 
upon  to  meet  at  FANEUIL  HALL  at  nine  of  clock  THIS  DAY 
(at  which  time  the  Bells  will  begin  to  Ring)  to  make  a 
united  &  successful  Resistance  to  this  last  worst  and  most 
Destructive  Measure  of  Administration. 

Boston,  Nov.  29,  1773.' 

"In  consequence  of  the  above  notification,  about  one 
thousand  people  met  at  Faneuil  Hall,  where  they  past  a 
vote  that  they  would  at  all  events  return  this  tea;  from 
Faneuil  Hall  [because  of  numbers]  they  adjourned  to  the 
Old  South  Meeting  [house];  afternoon  they  met  again  and 
adjourned  until  the  morning;  there  were  in  the  meeting 
this  afternoon  abl.  twenty -five  hundred  people  as  near  as 
I  could  guess." 

Such  a  body  could  not  be  without  influence.  John 
Andrews  notes  2  same  date:  "What  will  be  done  with  [the 
tea],  can't  say:  but  I  tremble  for  ye  consequences  should  ye 
consignees  still  persist  in  their  obstinacy  and  not  consent 
to  reship  it.  They  have  softened  down  so  far  as  to  offer  it 
to  the  care  of  Council  or  the  town,  till  such  times  as  they 
hear  from  their  friends  in  England,  but  am  perswaded,  from 
the  present  disposition  of  ye  people,  that  no  other  alterna 
tive  will  do,  than  to  have  it  immediately  sent  back  to 
London  again." 

1  Diary.          2  Letters  of  John  Andrews.     Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Pro.,  July,  1865. 


304    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

At  the  morning  session,  by  some  accounts,  Dr.  Young 
is  said  to  have  1  first  suggested  pitching  the  tea  overboard. 
However,  when  they  came  together  in  the  afternoon  ex 
pecting  to  hear  from  the  consignees,  they  were  waited 
upon  by  the  painter,  John  Singleton  Copley,  son-in-law  of 
old  Mr.  Clark,  who  said  the  agents  had  not  received  their 
London  letters  until  late  the  previous  night  and  were  so 
dispersed  they  had  been  unable  to  confer  since,  they  accord 
ingly  asked  for  more  time. 

"Out  of  great  tenderness  to  them  and  from  a  strong 
desire  to  bring  this  matter  to  a  conclusion,  notwithstand 
ing  the  time  they  had  hitherto  expended  upon  them  to  no 
purpose,"  the  meeting  was  again  adjourned  to  nine  the 
next  morning,  Tuesday,  the  30th.  The  ship  was  then 
ordered  'round  to  Griffin's  Wharf,  Captain  Edward  Proc 
tor  chosen  to  command  a  night  watch,  and  24  names  of 
volunteer-guards  speedily  passed  up  to  the  moderator,  — 
among  others,  Paul  Revere,  Dr.  Elisha  Story,  Thomas 
Chase,  Benjamin  Edes,  and  John  Crane.  This  watch  was 
maintained  19  days  and  23  hours,  Hancock  and  S.  Adams2 
taking  their  turns  with  the  rest.  Sentries  were  set  in  the 
belfries  and  every  half  hour  "All's  well"  was  passed  along. 
Tar  barrels  were  also  kept  in  readiness  for  lighting  on 
Beacon  Hill;  if  molested  by  day,  bells  were  to  ring,  if  at 
night,  toll.  After  the  first,  names  of  volunteers  were  left 
at  Edes  &  Gill's  printing  office.  This  meeting  also  chose 
six  post  riders  "who  are  used  to  horses,  to  be  in  readiness  to 
give  an  alarm  in  the  country  towns  when  necessary." 
Their  1  names  were  Wm.  Rogers,  the  constable  Jeremiah 
Belknap,  Steve  Hall,  Nat.1  Corbett,  Thomas  Gooding,  and 
Benn.  Wood  of  Charlestown. 

A  crisis  was  near,  and  old  Mr.  Clark  left  town.3  His 
fellow  consignees  had  begun  to  dream  of  tar  and  feathers 
and  already  taken  shelter  at  the  Castle  where  Colonel 

1  Tea  Leaves,  XLIV,  323,  XLV,  XLVI,  and  XLIX.     Drake. 

2  Life  of  Revere,  L.  121.     Goss. 

3  "Some  Pelham-Copley  Letters."     Ford.     Atlantic  Monthly,  April,  1893. 


J.  S.  COPLEY,  His  WIFE,  CHILDREN,  AND  FATHER-IN-LAW,  RICHARD  CLARKE,  ESQ. 


THE   BOSTON  TEA   PARTY  305 

Leslie  entertained  them  hospitably,  although  1  Thomas 
Hutchinson  could  not  refrain  from  bemoaning  the  bleak 
ness  of  the  fort  at  this  season. 

On  Monday  the  Council,1  replying  to  the  Governor's 
request  for  advice,  through  James  Bowdoin  expressed 
entire  sympathy  with  the  townsfolk,  who,  by  the  new  act 
felt  "a  distress  that  borders  upon  dispair."  Moreover, 
since  the  tax  must  be  paid  or  guaranteed,  before  landing, 
they  refused  utterly  to  receive  it  under  their  care,  feeling 
such  an  act  would  be  "inexpedient  and  improper."  As 
for  the  rabble  who  had  annoyed  the  consignees,  the  Board 
had  already  advised  legal  prosecution  of  the  offenders. 
They  ended  by  desiring  the  Governor  to  direct  the  justices 
to  keep  the  peace.  There  were  present  in  council,  that  day : 
Sam'l  Danforth,  Esq.,  James  Bowdoin,  George  Leonard, 
Isaac  Royal,  James  Russell,  Artemas  Ward,  John  Erving, 
James  Pitts,  John  Winthrop,  and  Samuel  Dexter,  Esq. 
At  the  meeting  held  Tuesday  a  proclamation  from  the 
Governor  was  read,  as  follows: 

To  Jonathan  Williams,  Esqr.,  acting  as  Moderator  of 
an  assembly  of  people,  in  the  Town  of  Boston,  and  to 
the  people  so  assembled:  Whereas,  printed  notifications 
were  on  Monday,  the  29th.  inst.,  posted  in  divers 
places  in  the  town  of  Boston,  and  published  in  the  news 
papers  of  this  day,  calling  upon  the  people  to  assemble 
together  for  certain  unlawful  purposes,  in  such  notifica 
tions  mentioned;  and  wrhereas,  great  numbers  of  persons 
belonging  to  the  town  of  Boston,  and  divers  others  belong 
ing  to  several  other  towns  in  the  Province,  did  assemble 
in  the  said  town  of  Boston,  on  the  said  day,  and  did  then 
and  there  proceed  to  chuse  a  moderator,  and  to  consult, 
debate,  and  resolve  upon  ways  and  means  for  carrying  such 
unlawful  purposes  into  execution,  openly  violating,  defying 
and  setting  at  nought  the  good  and  wholesome  laws  of  the 
Province,  and  the  constitution  of  government  under  which 

1  Tea  Leaves,  LI,  315,  318-19.     Drake. 


306    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

they  live;  and  whereas,  the  people  thus  assembled,  did  vote 
or  agree  to  adjourn,  or  continue  their  meeting  to  this  the 
30th  inst.,  and  great  numbers  of  them  are  again  met  or 
assembled  together  for  the  like  purpose,  in  the  said  town 
of  Boston: 

In  faithfulness  to  my  trust,  and  as  His  Majesty's  rep 
resentative  within  the  Province,  I  am  bound  to  bear  testi 
mony  against  this  violation  of  the  laws,  and  I  warn  and 
exhort  you  and  require  you,  and  each  of  you  thus  unlaw 
fully  assembled  forthwith,  to  disperse  and  surcease  all  fur 
ther  unlawful  proceedings  at  your  utmost  peril. 

Given  under  my  hand,  at  Milton,  in  the  Province  afore 
said;  the  30th  day  of  Novr.,  1773,  and  in  the  fourteenth 
year  of  His  Majesty's  reign. 

THOMAS  HUTCHINSON, 
By  his  Excellency's  command, 

Thos.  Flucker,  Sec'y.* 

The  moderator  here  mentioned,  Samuel  Phillips  Sav 
age,  came  from  Weston 2  and  had  been  selected  to  show  that 
the  town  and  the  country  w^ere  at  one  in  their  demand. 
Newell  continues,3  "After  (the  Proclamation)  was  read  by 
the  Sheriff  (Stephen  Greenleaf)  there  was  immediately  a 
loud  and  very  general  hiss.  A  motion  was  then  made,  and 
the  question  put,  whether  the  Assembly  would  disperse, 
according  to  the  Governor's  requirement.  It  passed  in 
the  negative." 

At  this  meeting  a  letter  l  received  from  the  consignees 
by  John  Scollay,  selectman,  was  also  read. 

Monday,  Novr.  29,  1773. 

Sir:  We  are  sorry  that  we  could  not  return  to  the  Town 
satisfactory  answers  to  their  two  late  messages  to  us  respect 
ing  the  teas.  We  beg  leave  to  acquaint  the  gentlemen, 
Selectmen,  that  we  have  since  received  our  orders  from  the 
Hon'ble  East  India  Com7. 

1  Tea  Leaves,  325-6,  323-4.     Drake.         *  American  Revolution,  I,  339.     Gordon. 
1  Diary.     Thomas  Newell.     November  30. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  307 

We  still  retain  a  disposition  to  do  all  in  our  power  to 
give  satisfaction  to  the  Town;  but,  as  we  understood  from 
you  and  the  other  gentlemen,  Select  men,  at  Messrs.  Clark's 
interview  with  you  last  Saturday,  that  this  can  be  effected 
by  nothing  less  than  our  sending  back  the  teas,  we  beg 
leave  to  say  this  is  utterly  out  of  our  power  to  do,  but 
we  do  now  declare  to  you  our  readiness  to  store  the  teas 
until  we  shall  have  an  opportunity  of  writing  to  our  con 
stituents,  and  shall  receive  their  further  orders  respecting 
them,  and  we  do  most  sincerely  wish  that  the  Town, 
considering  the  unexpected  difficulties  devolved  upon  us, 
will  be  satisfied  with  what  we  now  offer. 
We  are,  Sir, 

Your  most  humble  servants, 

Thos.  £  Elisha  Hutchinson 

Benjn.  Faneuil,  Junr.,  for  self  and 

Joshua  Winslow,  Esq.r 

Richard  Clark  &  Sons. 

To  John  Scollay,  Esqr. 

This  did  not  go  as  far  as  the  people  wished,  and  Cop 
ley,  l  anxious  to  be  peacemaker,  offered  to  interview  the 
Clark  brothers,  and  requested  safe  conduct,  if  he  could 
persuade  them  to  a  conference,  setting  the  space  of  two 
hours  for  his  passage  to  the  Castle  and  return.  Rowe,2 
who  began  to  have  anxieties,  enters  with  regard  to  his 
examination:  "I  told  him  that  I  had  purchased  a  cargo  for 
Capt.  Bruce's  ship,  that  it  was  on  the  w^harff,  .  .  .  and 
that  I  would  endeavor  to  prevail  on  him  to  act  with  reason 
in  this  affair,  and  that  I  was  very  sorry  he  had  any  tea  on 
board,  —  and  which  is  very  true,  for  it  hath  given  me  great 
uneasiness.  I  staid  some  time  at  the  meeting  and  was 
chose  a  committeeman  much  against  my  will,  but  I  dare 
not  say  a  word.  After  dinner  I  was  sent  for  by  the  Body 
by  two  messengers,  John  Ingersoll  and  Jos.  Eyres.  This  was 
at  the  motion  of  Mr.  Hancock,  I  wish  he  had  omitted  it." 

1  Tea  Leaves,  327.     Drake.  2  Diary,      November  30. 


308    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Rowe  then  engaged  when  the  Eleanor,  of  which  he  was 
part  owner,  came  in  he  would  use  his  endeavor  to  send  her 
home.  Mr.  Timmins,  representing  the  Beaver,  which  was 
owned  in  Nan  tucket,1  promised  no  tea  should  be  landed 
until  the  owner's  arrival. 

The  tangle  seemed  to  be  smoothing  out,  when  Copley 
returned  without  success.  He  apologized  for  so  greatly 
exceeding  his  time  as  it  was  difficult  to  make  the  trip  at 
that  season.  And  then,  as  he  reported 2  to  Mr.  Clark 
(Dec.  1st) : 

I  made  use  of  every  argument  my  thought  could  suggest 
to  draw  the  people  from  their  unfavorable  oppinion  of  you, 
&  to  convince  them  your  opposition  was  neither  the  effect 
of  obstinacy  or  unfriendliness  to  the  community,  but  alto 
gether  from  necessity  on  your  part  to  discharge  a  trust 
committed  to  you,  a  failure  in  which  would  subject  you  to 
ruin  in  your  reputation  as  Merchant,  to  ruin  in  point  of 
fortune,  your  friends  having  engaged  for  you  in  very  large 
sums,  that  you  were  uninfluenced  by  any  persons  whatso 
ever,  that  you  had  not  seen  the  Governor  that  Day  (this  last 
I  urged  in  answer  to  some  very  warm  things  that  were  said 
on  this  head  in  which  you  were  charged  with  acting  under 
the  Imediate  Influence  of  ye  Governor  which  in  justice 
to  you  &  him  I  undertook  to  say  from  my  own  knowledge 
was  not  true).  ...  I  further  observed  you  had  shown  no 
disposition  to  bring  the  Teas  into  the  Town  nor  would  you 
but  only  must  be  excused  from  being  the  active  instrument 
in  sending  it  back,  that  the  way  was  Clear  for  them  to  send 
it  back.  ...  I  have  done  every  possible  thing,  &  although 
there  was  a  unanimous  vote  past  Declaring  this  unsatis 
factory  yet  it  cooled  the  Resentment  &  they  Desolved  with 
out  Adding  or  saying  anything  that  showed  an  ill  temper 
to  you.  I  have  been  told  &  I  believe  it  true  that  after  I 
left  the  Meeting  Addams  said  they  must  not  expect  you 
should  Ruin  your  selves.  I  think  all  stands  well  at  pres- 

1  Tea  Leaves,  329.     Drake. 

2  "Some  Pelham-Copley  Letters'."     Ford.     Atlantic  Monthly,  April,  1893. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  309 

ent.  Before  the  temper  of  ye  People  could  be  judg'd  of, 
we  sent  Cousin  Harry  to  your  Hond.  Father  to  urge  his 
Immediate  Departure  to  you,  you  will  see  him  this  Day. 
I  have  no  doubt  in  my  own  mind  you  must  stay  where  you 
are  till  the  Vessel  sails.  .  .  .  Then  I  think  you  will  be  able 
to  return  with  Honour  to  Town,  some  few  things  in  the 
meanwhile  being  done  on  your  part.  I  had  a  long  &  free 
conversation  with  Doer.  Warren.  ...  I  must  conclude 
with  recommending  that  you  avoid  seeing  the  Governor. 
I  hope  he  will  not  have  any  occation  to  go  to  the  Castle, 
if  he  should,  do  not  converse  with  him  on  the  subject,  this 
I  think  is  the  best  advice  I  can  give. 

The  utmost  concession  Copley  had  been  empowered  to 
make  was  that  the  committee  could  inspect  the  tea  if  stored, 
and  as  the  consignees  had  not  been  active  to  bring  it  over, 
they  should  not  "obstruct  the  people  in  their  procedure 
now."  1  A  vote  was  then  passed  that  the  importers  mer 
ited  their  displeasure,  —  such  action  in  future  would  be 
deemed  hostile  to  the  country,  and  word  to  this  effect 
should  be  sent  to  England  and  posted  up  in  the  seaports 
of  the  Province. 

The  eyes  of  the  other  Colonies  were  on  Massachusetts. 
A  letter  from  Philadelphia  1  ran:  "Our  tea  consignees  have 
all  resigned,  and  you  need  not  fear,  the  tea  will  not  be 
landed  here  or  in  New  York.  All  that  we  fear  is  that  you 
will  shrink  at  Boston.  May  God  give  you  virtue  enough 
to  save  the  liberties  of  your  country."  1  John  Adams'  wife 
wrote:  "The  flame  is  kindled,  and  like  lightning  it  catches 
from  soul  to  soul.  .  .  .  My  heart  beats  at  every  whistle 
I  hear,  and  I  dare  not  express  half  my  fears." 

On  Dec.  1st,  Andrews  tells  us : 2 

Mr.  Palfrey  [Hancock's  confidential  clerk]  sets  off  ex 
press  for  New  York  and  Philadelphia  at  five  o'clock  to-mor 
row  morning,  to  communicate  ye  transactions  of  this  town 
respecting  the  tea.  .  .  .  The  consignees  have  all  taken  their 

1  Tea  Leaves,  329-30,  LIV,  LV.     Drake.  *  Letters. 


310    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

residence  at  the  Castle,  as  they  still  persist  in  their  refusal 
to  take  the  tea  back.  It's  not  only  ye  town,  but  the  coun 
try  are  unanimous  against  the  landing  it,  and  at  the 
Monday  and  Tuesday  Meetings,  they  attended  to  the  num 
ber  of  some  hundreds  from  all  the  neighboring  towns  within 
a  dozen  miles :  —  -  'twould  puzzle  any  person  to  purchase  a 
pair  of  p — Is  in  town,  as  they  are  all  bought  up,  with  a  full 
determination  to  repell  force  by  force. 

Dec.  2d,  Thomas  Newell  records 1  Captain  James 
Bruce 's  arrival.  He  also  made  an  eight  weeks'  passage  and 
brought  116  tea  chests  in  the  Eleanor. 

Returning  to  follow  Rowe : 2  "Dec.  3,  (Saturday). 
This  morning  Capt.  Bruce  and  I  was  sent  for  by  the  com 
mittee  relative  the  tea  on  board  him;  they  ordered  him  to 
Griffins  Wharff,  and  gave  him  the  same  directions  as  to 
Capt.  Hall."  December  7th,  Rotch  and  Hall  tendered 
the  cargo  to  the  consignees  at  Castle  William,  who  refused 
to  accept  it  as  there  were  armed  men  on  her  decks 
putting  it  out  of  their  power  to  unload. 

The  Salem  Gazette  of  this  date  said  boldly: 3  "By  what 
we  can  learn  from  private  intelligence,  as  well  as  the  pub 
lic  proceedings  of  a  number  of  principal  towns  contiguous 
to  the  capital,  the  people  if  opposed  in  their  proceedings 
with  respect  to  the  tea,  are  determined  upon  hazarding  a 
brush,  therefore  those  who  are  willing  to  bear  a  part  in  it 
in  preserving  the  rights  of  their  country,  would  do  well 
to  get  suitably  prepared." 

December  8th,2  Thursday,  Captain  Coffin  arrived  in 
Nantasket  Road  with  the  smallpox,  and  part  of  the  tea. 
The  letter 4  which  follows  was  probably  written  on  the 
10th.  It  is  merely  dated  "Saturday:" 

Gentlemen : 

As  the  people  seem  so  very  uneasy  abo.  this  importa- 

1  Diary.     Newell. 

2  Diary.     Rowe. 

8  Tea  Leaves,  LVI.     Drake. 

4  Diary  and  Letters  of  Gov.  Hutchinson,  I,  97.     Ed.  Hutchinson. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  311 

tion  of  Tea  I  think  it  my  Duty  out  of  friendship  to  you  to 
desire  this  affair  may  be  Reconcild;  &  as  your  young  Gen 
tleman  has  told  mee,  you  could  not  pay  the  Duty  for  want 
of  cash,  Give  me  leave  to  offer  you  what  is  wanted  to  pay 
the  Duty.  Rather  then  the  affair  should  be  any  longer 
kept  up  in  anger  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  This  I  do 
out  of  Regard  —  &  you  may  take  yr  own  method  of  Repay 
ing  mee. 

You  may  think  it  perhaps  an  officiousness  in  Mee,  but 
be  assurd  it's  for  the  sake  of  peace.  —  I  am,  with  Esteem, 
Gentn,  your  most  Obt.  Ser1, 

JOHN  ROWE. 

Messrs.  Hutchinson. 

On  the  llth,  says  Rowe:  1  "This  forenoon  a  committee 
was  sent  to  me  ab*.  Bruce's  ship,  Dr.  Warren,  Wm.  Molli- 
neux,  John  Pitts,  to  know  when  she  would  be  unloaded 
and  many  other  questions."  This  same  Sunday,  Captain 
Bruce,  having  a  cargo  of  lumber  ready  to  reload,  tendered 
the  cargo  of  the  Eleanor  at  Castle  William;  he  did  not 
count  himself  chargeable  with  the  conduct  of  the  towns 
folk,  but  said  pointedly,2  "My  business  is  with  you,  Gen 
tlemen,  will  you  or  will  you  not  receive  said  tea  on  shore." 
The  consignees  declining  to  accept  the  cargo  under  the 
circumstances,  Captain  Bruce  signed  a  protest  before  a 
notary  public. 

Thomas  Hutchinson,  Jr.,  writing  a  few  days  later  to 
his  brother  3  says  he  and  his  fellow-consignees  had  left 
none  too  soon  and  had  answered  the  committee  as  they 
would  not  have  dared  but  for  the  surrounding  cannon. 
Colonel  Leslie,  he  adds,  had  given  them  a  polite  reception 
and  they  were  as  comfortably  fixed  as  the  cold  winds  would 
allow,  and  whiled  away  the  time  by  drinking  the  health  of 
Peggy,  his  seventeen-year-old  sister,  and  other  "Toasts" 
of  the  town. 

Mr.  Clark  at  first  thought  of  memorializing  the  Legis- 

1  Diary.  2  Tea  Leaves,  346-8.     Drake. 

8  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  255.     Higgins. 


312     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

lature  in  justification  of  his  course,  and  on  the  llth  sought 
advice  from  his  son-in-law,  Copley,  who,  replying,  writes:  l 
he  had  thought  "best  to  see  Mr.  Lee  first  and  after  waiting 
till  yesterday  without  his  coming  to  Town  I  went  to  Cam 
bridge  &  had  a  full  oppertunity  of  converseing  with  him 
on  the  matter,  but  being  detained  all  night  by  means  of 
an  unruly  horse  which  gave  Sukey  [his  wife]  &  myself  some 
trouble  I  could  not  get  to  Town  this  Morng.  time  enough 
to  write  etc."  On  the  whole,  it  was  thought  "a  News 
paper  Publication  signed  by  the  agents  would  answer  all 
ye  purposes  of  doing  justice  to  [his]  injured  carracter  that 
a  Memorial  would,  without  the  disadvantages." 

Monday,  December  13th,  the  five  towns  already  men 
tioned  met  in  committee  at  Faneuil  Hall.  "No  business 
transacted  matter  of  record"  was  entered  on  their  2  books. 
We  are  not  to  suppose,  however,  they  were  idling.  Mr. 
Rotch  making  no  move  to  return  the  ships,  and  time  pass 
ing,  he  was  sent  for  and  2  asked  if  he  still  meant  to  send  the 
Dartmouth  back.  He  answered  he  acted  under  compulsion 
on  the  29th  and  30th,  and  should  be  inevitably  ruined  if 
he  sent  the  ship  away  in  her  present  condition.  Since  he 
thus  declined  to  ask  for  a  clearance  and  enter  a  protest  in 
case  it  was  refused,  a  mass  meeting  was  called.  December 
14th,  Tuesday,  Thomas  Newell3  writes:  "The  following 
hand  bill  was  posted  up:  *  Friends,  Brethren,  Countrymen— 
The  perfidious  art  of  your  restless  enemies  to  render  in 
effectual  the  late  resolutions  of  the  body  of  the  people, 
demands  your  assembling  at  the  Old  South  Meeting  House, 
precisely  at  two  o'clock,  at  which  time  the  bells  will  ring.'  ' 
The  Sons  of  Freedom  accordingly  met  at  the  Old  South, 
a  building  which  came  to  be  known  by  the  English  Govern 
ment  as  "the  seed  bed  of  rebellion."  Captain  Bruce  of 
the  Eleanor  now  came  before  them  and  gave  his  word  that 

1 "  Some  Pelham-Copley  Letters."     Paid  Leicester  Ford.     Atlantic  Monthly, 
April,  1893. 

2  Tea  Leaves,  LVI,  334.     Drake. 
*  Diary. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  313 

so  soon  as  all  his  cargo,  excepting  the  tea,  was  lifted,  he 
would  ask  for  a *  clearance,  adding  ruefully,  if  it  should  be 
withheld,  he  "was  loath  to  stand  the  shot  of  thirty-two 
pounders!"  In  twenty  days  from  the  arrival  of  the  first 
ship,  the  Dartmouth,  the  collector  would  make  his  formal 
demand  for  duty.  All  her  cargo,  save  the  tea,  was  out  and 
the  situation  became  awkward.  At  the  afternoon  session 
Rotch  was  enjoined  to  call  at  the  lodgings  of  the  collec 
tor,  Mr.  Harrison,  with  a  committee  of  ten  to  witness  his 
application  for  a  clearance.  Harrison,  when  applied  to,  said 
he  must  first  consult  the  comptroller,  Hallowell,  and  defer  a 
reply  until  office  hours  next  day,  Wednesday.  Accordingly, 
December  15th,  when  waited  upon  at  the  Custom-house,  he 
answered  stiffly  that  he  could  not,  consistently  with  his 
duty,  grant  a  clearance  till  the  dutiable  articles  were  out. 
This  was  strictly  legal.  The  ship  could  not  properly  clear 
without  these  conditions  were  met.  Neither  would  the 
Governor  pass  her  by  the  fort  uncleared.  On  the  contrary, 
he  ordered  Admiral  Montague  to  guard  '  the  harbor's1 
mouth  with  two  armed  ships,  the  Active  and  Kingfisher,  and 
forbade  Colonel  Leslie  to  let  any  vessel  pass  his  guns 
without  showing  a  permit  signed  by  himself.  At  the  end 
of  the  twenty  days,  if  the  tax  was  still  refused,  the  revenue 
officers  would  assuredly  take  possession  and  land  the  tea 
despite  the  watch.  It  was  rumored2  Admiral  Montague 
might  seize  on  the  ships  and  within  twenty-four  hours 
auction  off  the  tea,  willy  nilly.  Some  purchasers  would 
be  found  and  a  precedent  established. 

This  was  the  last  remaining  day  of  grace  in  which  to 
break  the  deadlock.  Post  riders  were  appointed  to  carry 
the  news,  in  case  it  was  attempted  to  land  the  tea  by  force. 
Howe's  3  anxiety  was  such,  he  enters  in  his  diary,  December 
16th:  "I  being  a  little  unwell  staid  at  home  all  day  and  all 

1  Tea  Leaves,  LVII-LVIII,  LV,  LVIII.     Drake. 

2  History  of  the  American  Wars  comprising  the  War  of  the  Revolution  and  the 
War  of  1813,  48.     R.  Thomas.     Hartford,  1845. 

3  Diary. 


314    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

j 

the  evening."     This  would  be  at  his  house  in  Bedford  Street, 
—then  Pond  Street, — in  the  rear  of  the  present  firm  of 
R.  H.  White.     He  was  fifty-eight  years  old  at  this  time. 

All  hope  of  an  accommodation  had  not  been  abandoned 
even  now.  John  Andrews,  in  a  letter l  which  has  been 
thumbed  almost  to  shreds  by  its  eager  readers,  writes: 
"Mr.  Rotch  finding  he  exposed  himself  not  only  to  the  loss 
of  his  ship  but  for  ye  value  of  the  tea  in  case  he  sent  her 
back  with  it,  without  a  clearance  from  the  custom  house, 
as  ye  Admiral  kept  a  ship  in  readiness  to  make  a  seizure  of 
it  whenever  it  should  sail  under  these  circumstances;  therefore 
declin'd  complying  with  his  former  promises,  and  abso 
lutely  declared  his  vessel  should  not  carry  it,  without  a 
proper  clearance  could  be  procur'd  or  he  be  indemnified  for 
the  value  of  her:  —  when  a  general  muster  was  assembled, 
from  this  and  all  ye  neighboring  towns,  to  the  number  of 
five  or  six  thousand,  at  10  o'clock  Thursday  morning  in 
the  Old  South  Meeting  house,  where  they  pass'd  a  unani 
mous  vote  that  the  Tea  should  go  out  of  the  harbour  that 
afternoon,  and  sent  a  Committee  with  Mr.  Rotch  to  ye  Cus 
tom  house  to  demand  a  clearance,  which  the  collector  told 
'em  was  not  in  his  power  to  give,  without  the  duties  being 
first  paid.  They  then  sent  Mr.  Rotch  to  Milton,  to  ask  a 
pass  from  ye  Governor  [for  in  1743  Hutchinson  had  bought 
100  acres  at  Milton,  seven  miles  distant,  and  made  his 
home  there  on  Unquity  Hill]  who  sent  for  answer,  that 
*  consistent  with  the  rules  of  Government  and  his  duty  to 
the  King  he  could  not  grant  one;  without  they  produced  a 
previous  clearance  from  the  office."  The  utmost  he  could 
do  would  be  to  ask  the  Admiral's2  protection,  if  Rotch  shifted 
his  vessel  into  the  stream.  Rotch  sadly  replied  no  one 
would  lend  him  a  hand  to  help  him  and  he  dared  not.  Cold 
comfort  to  jog  back  with  on  a  short  December  afternoon. 
The  delay  was  tedious  and  a  vote  was  passed  to  adjourn, 

1  Letters  of  John  Andrews.     December  18. 

2  The  Destruction  of  the  Tea,  10-12.     Thomas  Hutchinson.     Old  South  Leaflet, 
No.  68. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  315 

but  reconsidered  by  those  anxious  to  send  the  tea  back 
undisturbed,  if  in  their  power.  Andrews  continues: *  "By 
the  time  he  return'd  [a  quarter  to  six]  with  this  message  the 
candles  were  alight  in  the  house,  and  upon  reading  it,  such 
prodigious  shouts  were  made,  that  induc'd  me,  while  drink 
ing  tea  at  home,  to  go  out  and  know  the  cause  of  it."  It 
seems  young  Josiah  Quincy  had  made  a  fiery  speech  from 
the  east  gallery  while  the  crowd  sat  awaiting  Rotch's  re 
turn.  "Whoever,"  he  cried,2  "supposes  that  shouts  and 
hozannas  will  terminate  the  trials  of  this  day,  entertains  a 
childish  fancy  .  .  .  [we]  must  be  grossly  ignorant  of  the 
importance  and  value  of  the  prize  for  which  we  contend; 
we  must  be  equally  ignorant  of  the  power  of  those  who 
have  combined  against  us;  we  must  be  blind  to  that  malice 
.  .  .  which  actuates  our  enemies,  public  and  private,  abroad 
and  in  our  bosoms,  to  hope  that  we  shall  end  this  con 
troversy  without  the  sharpest  conflicts  —  to  flatter  our 
selves  that  popular  resolves,  popular  harangues,  popular 
acclamations  and  popular  vapor  will  vanquish  our  foes." 

When  he 3  paused,  Harrison  Gray,  standing  on  the 
floor,  in  reply  warned  "the  young  gentleman  in  the  gallery" 
against  the  consequences  of  the  intemperate  language  in 
which  he  had  indulged,  saying  that  such  language  would  be 
no  longer  borne  by  Administration;  that  measures  were  in 
train  which  would  bring  the  authors  of  such  invectives  to 
the  punishment  they  deserved.  Rising  once  more,  Quincy 
replied,  "If  the  old  gentleman  on  the  floor  intends  by  his 
warning  to  'the  young  gentleman  in  the  gallery'  to  utter 
only  a  friendly  voice  in  the  spirit  of  paternal  advice,  I 
thank  him.  If  his  object  be  to  terrify  and  intimidate,  I 
despise  him.  Personally,  perhaps,  I  have  less  concern  than 
any  present  in  the  crisis  which  is  approaching.  The  seeds 
of  dissolution  are  thickly  planted  in  my  constitution. 
They  must  soon  ripen.  I  feel  how  short  is  the  day  that  is 
allotted  to  me."  As  he  spoke  a  few  Indians  hovered  about 

1  Letters.  2  Our  Country,  II,  701.     Lossing. 

3  Memoir  of  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  125. 


316     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

the  door,  attracting  the  attention  of  the  crowd,  and  he 
ended:  "I  see  the  clouds  which  now  rise  thick  and  fast 
upon  our  horizon,  the  thunders  roll,  and  the  lightenings 
play,  and  to  that  God  who  rides  on  the  whirlwind  and 
directs  the  storm  I  commit  my  country."  These  final 
words  were  distinctly  recalled  in  1852  by  Daniel  Greenleaf, 
of  Quincy,  then  ninety  years  of  age,  who  was  a  Latin 
School  boy  at  the  time  and  in  the  upper  gallery  with  his 
mates,  where  they  had  been  sent  by  James  Lovell  the 
schoolmaster's  son  and  assistant.  He  had  just  finished 
when  the  Governor's  unyielding  message  was  delivered.  The 
densely  packed  room,  lit  only  by  flickering  candlelight,  began 
to  fill  with  a  rising  hum  of  displeasure.  There  was  a  call  to 
order  and1  Dr.  Young  charged  the  people  to  do  no  hurt  to 
Rotch,  who  had  tried  his  best  to  give  satisfaction.  Sam 
Adams  then  pronounced  gravely:  "This  meeting  can  do  no 
more  to  save  the  country."  Thomas  Carlyle  says  *  here, 
"We'll  naturally  go  home  then  and  weep.  Hark,  however!" 

"Who  knows  how  tea  will  mingle  with  salt  water?"  is 
cried.  At  that  moment  a  man,  disguised  as  a  Mohawk, 
gave  a  war-whoop  in  the  gallery,  which  was  answered  from 
the  door.  Another  voice  in  the  gallery  1  shouted:  "Boston 
harbor  a  teapot  tonight!  Hurrah  for  Griffin's  Wharf." 

Going  back  to  John  Andrews,2  he  says:  "The  house 
was  so  crouded  I  could  get  no  further  than  ye  porch,  when 
I  found  the  moderator  was  just  declaring  the  meeting  to  be 
dissolved,  which  caused  another  general  shout,  out  doors  and 
in,  and  three  cheers.  What  with  that,  and  the  consequent 
noise  of  breaking  up  the  meeting,  you'd  thought  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  infernal  regions  had  broke  loose.  For 
my  part,  I  went  contentedly  home  and  finish'd  my  tea, 
but  was  soon  inf orm'd  what  was  going  forward :  but  still  not 
crediting  it  without  ocular  demonstration,  I  went  and  was 
satisfied.  They  mustered,  I'm  told,  upon  Fort  Hill,  to  the 
number  of  about  two  hundred,  and  proceeded,  two  by  two, 

1  Tea  Leaves,  LXIV,  LXXXVIII,  LXIV.     Drake. 

2  Letters.     December  18,  1773. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  317 

to  Griffin's  wharf,  where  Hall,  Bruce,  and  Coffin  lay,  each 
with  114  chests  of  the  ill-fated  article  on  board;  the  two 
former  with  only  that  article,  but  ye  latter  (brig  Beaver, 
Captain  Hezekiah  Coffin)  arriv'd  at  ye  wharf  only  ye  day 
before,  was  (still)  freighted  with  a  large  quantity  of  other 
goods,  which  they  took  the  greatest  care  not  to  injure  in 
the  least,  and  before  nine  o'clock  in  ye  evening,  every  chest 
from  on  board  the  three  vessels  was  knock'd  to  pieces  and 
flung  over  ye  sides.  They  say  the  actors  were  Indians 
from  Narragansett.  Whether  they  were  or  not,  to  a  tran 
sient  observer,  they  appear'd  as  such,  being  cloath'd  in 
Blankets  with  the  heads  muffled,  and  copper  color'd  coun 
tenances,  being  each  arm'd  with  a  hatchet  or  axe,  and  pair 
pistols,  nor  was  their  dialect  different  from  what  I  conceive 
these  geniusses  to  speak,  as  their  jargon  was  unintellegible 
to  all  but  themselves.  Not  the  least  insult  was  offer'd  to 
any  person,  save  one  Captain  Conner,  a  letter  of  horses  in 
this  place,  not  many  years  since  remov'd  from  dear  Ireland, 
who  had  ript  up  the  lining  of  his  coat  and  waistcoat  under 
the  arms,  and  watching  his  opportunity  had  nearly  fill'd 
'em  with  tea,  but  being  detected,  was  handled  pretty 
roughly.  They  not  only  stripp'd  him  of  his  cloaths,  but 
gave  him  a  coat  of  mud,  with  a  severe  bruising  into  the  bar 
gain;  and  nothing  but  their  utter  aversion  to  make  any 
disturbance  prevented  his  being  tarr'd  and  feather'd." 

Griffin's  Wharf,  where  this  took  place,  near  the  foot  of 
Pearl  Street,  is  now  known  as  Liverpool  Wharf;  a  bronze 
tablet  with  a  bas-relief  on  Atlantic  Avenue  at  the  corner 
of  Pearl  Street  marking  the  spot.  The  inscription  is  framed 
with  tea  chests  and  tea  leaves,  and  concludes  in  the  words 
of  Dr.  Holmes: l 

No  n'er  was  mingled  such  a  draught, 
In  palace,  hall  or  arbor, 
As  freemen  brewed  and  tyrants  quaffed, 
That  night  in  Boston  harbor. 

1  Poems.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  M.D.  Cambridge,  1895:  Houghton, 
Mifflin  &  Company. 


318     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Lord  Mahon  makes  the  valuation  of  the  tea  rather  less 
than  does  Tudor,  i.e.,1  £18,000,  one-third  of  the  whole 
being  consigned  to  the  Hutchinsons. 

The  story  is  worth  following  in  detail.  At  first  it  had 
hardly  been  known  what  to  do  to  get  rid  of  the  tea.  If  the 
ships  should  be  burnt,  the  fire  might  spread;  and  if  scuttled 
it  would  take  so  long  the  men  might  get  into  trouble.  At 
last  the  Liberty  boys  had  it.  The  guard  had  noticed  few 
men  were  kept  about  the  vessels  at  night,  and  planned  if 
the  consignees  still  resisted,  to  make  away  with  the  tea 
and  nothing  else.  As  the  afternoon  wore  on,  those  who 
were  in  the  secret,  and  knew  what  was  at  hand,  gradually 
let  a  few  more  trusty  friends  into  the  project,  and  at  twi 
light,  dotted  about  the  town,  were  sundry  groups  in  full  tide 
of  preparation.  A  score  of  trades  was  represented  by  the 
guests  that  night.  Masons,  carpenters,  house wrights,  coach- 
makers,  pumpmakers,  ropemakers,  cordwainers,  tanners, 
coopers,  shipwrights,  wharfingers,  oarmakers,  blacksmiths, 
silversmiths,  printers,  bricklayers,  shipjoiners,  barbers,  and 
hatters.  There  were  several  physicians  and  a  number  of 
merchants.  There  were  some  apprentices  to  Tory  masters, 
and  there  was  Dr.  Elisha  Story,1  thirty  years  of  age,  son  of 
the  Registrar  of  the  Court  of  Admiralty. 

Samuel  Sprague,1  father  of  the  poet,  Charles,  then 
twenty  years  of  age  and  apprenticed  to  Etheridge,  a  South 
End  stonemason,  was  courting  Joanna  Thayer  that  evening. 
Some  boys  starting  a  quarrel  under  the  window,  he  ran  out 
to  little  Abraham  Hewes'  help,  and  met  a  couple  of  lads  on 
their  way  to  the  party,  running  on  with  them.  He  passed 
the  sentry  all  right,  and  was  staving  in  chests  with  his  feet 
when  an  Indian  signed  to  him  from  the  hatchway  he  must 
blacken  his  face.  Glancing  about,  he  spied  a  low  building 
with  a  stovepipe  for  chimney.  Climbing  on  the  roof,  a  few 
smutches  of  soot  provided  the  requisite  evening  dress  and 
he  hastened  back.  In  after  years  when  he  started  to  tell 
of  all  this,  his  wife  used  to  check  him  with,  "Now,  Mr. 

*  Tea  Leaves,  LXV,  CLXVI,  CLXIIL     Drake. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  319 

Sprague,  I  wouldn't  talk  about  that."  l  G.  R.  T.  Hewes 
also  made  an  impromptu  disguise  by  begriming  his  face 
at  a  blacksmith's  shop  on  Boylston  Wharf,  and  borrowing  a 
blanket  and  hatchet  from  a  friend  near  Griffin's.  Others 
wore  old  frocks,  red  woollen  caps,  and  gowns.  Henry  Pur- 
kitt  and  Edward  Dolbear,2  coopers'  apprentices  at  Peck's 
in  Essex  Street,  were  at  their  work  when  a  loud  whistle 
summoned  them  to  the  wharf.  On  the  southerly  corner  of 
Hollis  and  Tremont  Streets  stood,  until  1898,  the  old 
Bradlee  house.  Here,  four  brothers,  David,  Thomas,  Nathan 
iel,  and  Josiah,  together  with  a  brother-in-law,  John  Ful 
ton,  made  ready.  For  several  days  Sarah  (Fulton)  Bradlee 
had  been  making  preparations  and  now  helped  her  hus 
band  and  brother  rig  up  so  that  they  should  not  be  recog 
nized.  James  Brewer's 2  wife  and  daughter  elsewhere 
were  blackening  his  face  with  burnt  cork. 

Amos  Lincoln,2  a  Hingham  lad  of  twenty,  apprenticed 
to  Mr.  Crafts,  was  helped  by  his  master  to  an  Indian  dis 
guise.  After  dressing  him  in  his  own  chamber  and  dark 
ening  his  face  in  keeping  with  his  Indian  dress,  Mr.  Crafts 
dropped  on  his  knees  and  "prayed  most  fervently  that 
he  might  be  protected  in  the  enterprise  in  which  he  was 
engaged."  John  May,2  aged  twenty-five,  lived  on  North 
Square.  That  afternoon  he  came  in  hurriedly  and  said  to 
his  young  wife,  "Nabby,  let  me  have  a  beef  steak  as  quick 
as  possible."  Even  as  he  ate  it  there  came  a  tap  on  the 
window,  and  he  "rose  at  once  from  the  unfinished  meal 
and  departed."  Ben  Russell,2  son  of  a  mason  named 
John,  was  a  schoolboy  at  the  time,  and  never  forgot  seeing 
through  the  woodhouse  his  father  and  a  neighbor,  Mr. 
Thomas  Moore,  smearing  each  other's  faces  with  lamp 
black  and  red  ochre. 

Thirty  or  forty  are  said  to  have   disguised  themselves 

l€'The  Last  Survivor  of  the  Boston  Tea  Party."  By  Gen.  James  Grant, 
D.C.L.  American  Historical  Register,  March,  1897. 

2  Tea  Leaves,  LXXX,    XCVI,    XCVIII,    CXXIV,    CXXVIII,    CXXXVII. 
Drake. 


320    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

on  the  second  floor  of  the  old  Hancock  Tavern, — formerly 
Brazier's  Inn,  using  feathers  from  the  market  near  by  and 
Indian  red  and  dry  color.  Then  wrapping  themselves  in 
blankets,  they  are  supposed  to  have  filed  down  the  narrow 
stairway  into  Corn  Court,  leading  on  Faneuil  Hall  Square, 
and  joined  in  the  revels.  This  is  treated  as  a  myth  by  the 
better  informed. l  Will  More,  concerned  in  the  Hutchinson 
riot,  and2  Mclntosh  with  "their2  chickens,"  were  also  on 
hand. 

Where  the  Equitable  Life  Insurance  building  stands 
on  Milk  Street,  lived  a  carpenter,  Joseph  Shed,2  and  his 
house  was  the  centre  of  another  little  group  of  braves. 
Peter  Slater, 2  a  young  apprentice,  was  shut  up  in  his  cham 
ber  by  his  master,  a  ropemaker,  who  feared  the  boy  might 
be  led  into  danger.  Pete  was  not  to  be  hindered,  however, 
and  climbed  out  of  a  window  and  reached  a  blacksmith's 
shop.  Here  a  man  in  disguise  told  him  to  rub  charcoal  over 
his  face  and  tie  a  handkerchief  round  his  frock  and  come 
along.  Thomas  Spear2  also  ran  into  a  blacksmith's  and 
blackened  his  face  with  soot.  Elisha  Story2  and  a  party 
of  Liberty  boys  started  from  a  distillery,  possibly  Chase  & 
Speakman's  in  Hanover  Square,  near  Liberty  Tree. 

Joseph  Lovering, 2  a  boy  of  twelve,  made  himself  useful 
by  holding  a  light  for  Crane,  the  carpenter,  on  Tremont 
Street,  opposite  Hollis,  while  a  crowd  of  fifteen  got  into 
their  rig.  Another  boy,  Peter  Edes,2  son  of  the  printer, 
Benjamin,  was  not  allowed  in  the  parlor,  where  his  father's 
friends  collected  during  the  afternoon,  but  was  employed 
in  another  room  filling  successive  bowls  of  punch  which 
were  sent  in  to  speed  their  counsels.  Edes'  printing  office 
was  on  the  corner  of  Dassett's  Alley,  now  Franklin  Avenue, 
leading  to  Brattle  Street  church  from  Queen  (now  Court) 
Street. 

When  these  various  squads  were  ready  to  start,  a  band 

1  Boston  Evening  Transcript,  June  4,  1903. 

*Tea  Leaves,  CXXVII,  CLXI,  CLXII,  CLXIII,  CLXVI,  CLXXXIII, 
LXXVIII.  Drake. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  321 

of  eighteen  or  twenty  young  men,  not  disguised,  went  by 
the  Old  South  giving  a  shout.  A  voice  in  the  gallery  cried, 
"Every  man  to  his  tent."  Someone  within  in  the  secret 
called,  "The  Mohawks  are  come!"  Another,  Adam 
Collson,1  a  leather  dresser,  cried,  "Boston  harbor  a  teapot 
to-night.  Hurrah  for  Griffin's  Wharf!"  and  the  building 
emptied,  pouring  out  in  the  direction  of  Fort  Hill.  It  is 
told  of  two  of  the  foremost  Indians  that  as  they  passed  this 
point  they  met  a  British  officer,1  who  half  drew  his  sword; 
but  the  Indians  were  resolute,  and  one,  drawing  his  pistol, 
said,  "The  path  is  wide  enough  for  us  all;  we  have  nothing 
to  do  with  you  and  intend  you  no  harm;  if  you  keep  your 
own  way  peaceably,  we  shall  keep  ours." 

In  a  store  on  Fort  Hill  many  made  ready.  A  lad  of 
sixteen,  a  journeyman-blacksmith,  named  Joshua  Wyeth,1 
only  had  a  few  hours'  notice  of  what  was  forward.  By 
means  of  ragged  clothes  and  faces  defaced  with  grease 
and  soot  the  actors  left  nothing  but  the  voice  from  which 
to  prove  identity.  They  scarce  knew  themselves. 

The  rallying  place  was  a  building  at  the  head  of  the 
wharf.  They  dropped  in  one  or  two  at  a  time  and  finally 
went  down,  seventy  or  eighty  strong,  to  the  wharf's  end, 
whooping  like  savages.  Says  Holmes:2 

On  —  on  to  where  the  tea  ships  ride! 
And  now  their  ranks  are  forming,  — 
A  rush,  and  up  the  Dartmouth's  side 
The  Mohawk  band  is  swarming ! 
See  the  fierce  natives !     What  a  glimpse 
Of  paint  and  fur  and  feather, 
As  all  at  once  the  full  grown  imps 
Light  on  the  deck  together! 

At  the  wharf  they  were  met  by  a  detachment  of  Pad 
dock's  Artillery1  on  guard,  who  joined  forces.  They  found 
the  Dartmouth  alongside,  and  the  other  two  vessels,  tall 
East  Indiamen  with  high  poops  and  ornamented  sterns, 

*  Tea  Leaves,  LXXII,  LXXX,  LXXI,  LXXIX.     Drake. 

2  "A  Ballad  of  the  Boston  Tea-Party."  Poems.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  M.D. 
Cambridge,  1895:  Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Company. 


322    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

a  little  way  out  in  the  stream,  but  made  fast  to  the  wharf. 
It  was  between  six  and  seven  o'clock.  The  tide  was  low, 
only  about  two  feet x  of  water  washing  the  ships'  sides. 
This  was  a  favorable  circumstance,  as  it  prevented  the 
men-of-war  coming  up  to  interfere.  It  had1  rained  the 
past  twenty-four  hours,  but  had  cleared  off  bright  moon 
light. 

An  unarmed  sentry  was  dropped  at  the  head  of  the  wharf, 
and  another  midway,  while  one  more  was  posted  at  the  bow 
of  the  ship,  chiefly  to  give  warning  of  any  Tory's  approach. 
The  Dartmouth  was  first  boarded,  and  the  Captain  was 
ordered  by  Lendall  Pitts1  in  a  determined  voice  to  uncover 
the  hatch  and  hand  over  his  hoisting  tackle,  and  keep 
with  the  Custom-house  officers,  out  of  harm's  way.  Samuel 
Pitts,  a  brother  of  Lendall,  an  officer  in  the  Cadets,  is 
said  to  have  been  actively  present.  Still  another,  John,  a 
selectman,  had  been  urgent  with  the  importers  to  resign. 
Their  father,  James  Pitts,  in  the  Governor's  Council,  had 
also  done  his  utmost  to  have  the  tea  returned.  Captain 
Hall 1  asked  what  they  meant  to  do,  and  they  said,  unload 
the  tea.  He  then  complied  with  their  demand,  furnishing 
candles  and  sending  a  man  to  show  where  it  was  stowed. 
There  were  80  whole  and  34  half  chests  in  the  hold,  secured 
in  canvas  as  was  then  the  custom. 

Robert  Sessions,1  from  Pomfret,  Conn.,  worked  for 
Mr.  Davis,  a  lumber  merchant.  When  his  master  came  in 
from  the  town  meeting,  he  asked  with  interest  what  was 
to  be  done  with  the  tea.  "They  are  now  throwing  it  over 
board,"  was  the  reply,  and  receiving  leave  to  go  off  to  the 
wharf,  Sessions  lost  no  time.  He  found  the  waterside  as 
light  as  day  from  the  many  lamps  and  torches;  a  pin  could 
have  been  picked  up.  Those  disguised  as  Indians  were 
mainly  men  of  family  and  position;  and  since  they  needed 
reinforcements  to  press  the  work  through  rapidly,  Sessions 
was  one  of  the  many  undisguised  helpers  who  clambered  to 
the  deck. 

i  Tea  Leaves,  LXXVII,  LXIX,  LXXI,  CXLII,  LXXIII,  LXXIX.     Drake. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  323 

The  workers,  now  increased  to  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty,  were  divided  into  three  bands.  Five  or  six  on  each 
vessel  took  the  lead.  They  were  in  the  fullest  disguise, 
and  used  an  Indian  jargon  when  they  wished  to  direct 
matters.  An  interpreter,  acting  as  captain  of  each  band, 
then  communicated  the  chief's  wishes  through  "boat 
swains,"  George  R.  T.  Hewes,  famous  as  a  whistler,  work 
ing  under  Lendall  Pitts  on  the  brig.  He  tells  us  he  was1 
sent  by  Pitts  to  the  shipmaster  for  keys  and  a  dozen 
candles.  To  each  was  assigned  his  position.  Deep  in 
the  hold  one  1  party  would  draw  out  a  chest  and  carry 
it  forward,  another  slip  it  carefully  in  the  noose  of  the 
tackle,  and  on  the  deck  a  lusty  group  hoisted  aloft.  Once 
above  decks,  the  chests  were  seized  by  the  Mohawks, 
and  while  some  stood  ready  with  axes  to  cut  their  bind 
ings,  others  as  swiftly  stove  them  in  and  they  were  passed 
back  to  the  ship's  rail,  where  sturdy  fellows  heaved  them 
up  and  emptied  their  contents  into  the  sea.  Since  a  whole 
chest  weighed  360  pounds,  there  must  have  been  sore 
muscles  next  day.  Sam  Hobbs,  a  Roxbury  tanner,  found 
them  heavy. 

Ebenezer  Stevens l  had  left  the  Old  South  just  after  dark. 
The  lads  he  went  with  had  no  disguise  other  than  a  little 
paint  daubed  on  their  faces,  which  they  stopped  for  at  a 
shop  as  they  went  toward  the  water.  He  was  courting  a 
sister  of  Alexander  Hodgdon,  mate  of  the  Dartmouth,  and 
so  chose  to  work  on  one  of  the  other  ships  which  lay  at  the 
opposite  side  of  the  wharf.  The  last  vessel  boarded  was 
the  brig,  which  held  other  merchandise.  Captain  Coffin 
was  somewhat  concerned  for  its  safety,  but  was  assured  it 
was  "the  tea  they  wanted,  and  the  tea  they  would  have, 
but  if  he  would  go  into  his  cabin  quietly,  not  one  article 
of  his  goods  should  suffer,"  and  again  the  sound  of  the  tackle 
and  rip  of  canvas  and  smart  blow  of  the  axes,  coupled  with 
the  boatswains'  calls,  went  up  from  the  wharf.  By  now 
the  tide  had  ebbed  so  far  the  tea  and  boxes  were  beginning 

1  Tea  Leaves,  LXXXI,  LXXIII,  LXXIX,  CXV,  LXIX.      Drake. 


324    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

to  clog  the  sides  of  the  ships.  Ben  Simpson,1  a  brick 
layer's  apprentice,  nineteen  years  of  age,  saw  the  tea  heaped 
so  high  that  it  fell  back  onto  the  deck  and  shovels  were 
taken  to  force  it  down.  At  last  Peter  Slater1  was  told  off 
with  one  more  to  push  under  water,  with  poles,  the  chests 
cast  from  the  brig,  so  that  they  might  spoil  and  sink  the 
sooner.1  Purkitt  and  Dolbear  were  also  told  to  drop  over 
and  stand  on  the  soft  flats,  using  staves  brought  from  a 
cooper's  shop  to  smash  up  the  boxes,  and  trample  the  tea 
well  into  the  mud. 

The  great  quantity  of  tea  proved  a  temptation  to  a 
few.  John  Hooton,1  an  apprentice  who  was  watchful  as 
he  worked,  spied  a  seeming  countryman  stealing  up  in  a 
canoe  intending  to  make  off  with  some,  but  the  lad  was 
too  quick  for  him,  and  leaping  over  the  side  "in  a  twink 
ling,"  had  beat  the  canoe  from  under  the  old  fellow.  Hewes 
noticed  a  suspicious  movement  on  the  part  of  O'Connor,1  an 
Irishman,  who  seemed  to  be  slipping  tea  inside  his  coat 
lining,  and  told  Pitts.  He  was  at  once  seized  by  the  coat- 
tails,  which  gave  way  and  loosened  his  load  of  pickings. 
However,  after  a  little  tumbling  in  the  mud,  he  was  allowed 
to  slink  off.  It  is  said,  next  day  the  coat-tails  2  were  dis 
played  on  the  Charlestown  whipping-post,  as  he  was  of 
that  town.  Shortly  after,  a  lad,  Isaac  Pitman,3  observed 
another  old  fellow  filling  the  great  flap-pockets  of  his  coat 
with  tea.  Cautiously  lifting  his  coat-tails,  Pitman  let  the 
contents  drop  into  the  sea,  together,  as  it  chanced,  with  the 
old  man's  office  and  house  keys,  the  loss  of  which  he  loudly 
lamented,  insisting  somebody  had  stolen  them.  The 4 
account  of  a  "tall  aged  man  wearing  a  large  cocked  hat 
and  white  wig,"  who,  being  caught  in  the  act  of  pilfering, 
had  hat  and  wig  both  thrown  overboard,  may  have  refer- 

1  Tea  Leaves,  CXV,  LXXVIII,  LXIX,  LXXVII,  CLXII,  LXXXI,   CXVI, 
LXXVII.     Drake. 

2  Hist,  of  the  U.  S.,  Ill,  373.     Bryant  and  Gay. 

8  Alice  Morse  Earle.     American  Monthly  Magazine,  July,  1896. 
4  The  History  and  Antiquities  of  New  England,  N.  Y.,  N.  J.  and  Penn.,  390. 
John  Warner  Barber.      Hartford,  1844. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  325 

ence  to  this  same  person.  When  it  was  thought  all  the  tea 
had  been  disposed  of,  one  of  the  men  laid  hands  on  a  light- 
fingered  party  and  said,  "No,  boys,  here's  another  chest," 
turning  out  his  pockets  as  he  spoke.1  James  Dawson,2 
thirteen  years  old,  of  Nantucket,  is  said  to  have  seen  sev 
eral  who  had  stowed  tea  in  their  boots  laid  over  the 
nearest  barrel  and  "spanked."  During  the  evening  there 
was  a  narrow  escape  from  a  fatal  accident  by  the  fall  of  a 
hoisting  derrick  which  knocked  John  Crane 3  senseless. 
He  was  born  in  Milton,  and  was  twenty-nine  years  of  age. 
It  was  from  his  carpenter's  shop,  next  door  to  Parson  Byles', 
a  large  number  had  set  forth.  Supposing  him  dead,  some 
comrades  carried  him  to  a  neighboring  carpenter's  shop 
and  hid  the  body  under  a  pile  of  shavings.  When  all  was 
over,  Crane  was  sought  out,  taken  to  his  home,  and  happily 
recovered.  The  workers  were  somewhat  hampered  in  their 
movements  by  the  dense  crowd  of  onlookers.  Wyeth,3 
for  one,  says  he  never  worked  harder  in  his  life.  "We 
stirred  briskly  in  the  business,"  he  says,  "from  the  moment 
we  left  our  dressing-room.  We  were  merry,  in  an  under 
tone,  at  the  idea  of  making  so  large  a  cup  of  tea  for  the 
fishes,  but  were  as  still  as  the  nature  of  the  case  would  admit, 
using  no  more  words  than  were  absolutely  necessary." 

Richard  Hunnewell 3  had  two  sons  by  his  side,  one  six 
teen,  one  fourteen.  Sam  Sprague  worked  silently  beside 
his  master,  Mr.  Etheridge,  whom  he  recognized.  Hewes  3 
supposed  he  recognized  Hancock  by  his  crimson  velvet 
sleeve,  point  lace  ruffles,  and  bearing,  when  his  blanket 
chanced  to  slip  aside. 

When  the  tea  had  all  been  disposed  of,  the  deck  was 
swept  clean,  everything  set  back  as  found,  and  the  mate 
called  up  to  certify  that  nothing  save  the  tea  had  been 
meddled  with  or  harmed;  even  a  small  padlock3  belonging 

1  Hist,  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  361.     Shea. 

2  American  Monthly  Magazine,  February,  1902. 

»  Tea    Leaves,    CV,    LXXII,    CXX,    CLXIII,    LXXII,    LXXXI,    LXVIII. 
Drake. 


326    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

to  one  of  the  captains,  which  had  been  broken,  was  replaced. 
The  party  now  broke  up;  the  lads  working  on  the  flats,1 
under  the  sides,  had  no  trouble  in  regaining  the  deck,  the 
pile  of  boxes  had  mounted  so  high.  After  which,1  "Those 
who  were  from  the  country,"  says  the  Massachusetts 
Gazette,  "went  home  with  a  merry  heart." 

Seth  Brown,1  a  carpenter,  twenty-three  years  of  age, 
born  in  Cambridge,  went  to  the  party  masked  and  painted, 
carrying  a  club.  The  crowd  was  so  thick  and  people  looked 
out  so  curiously  from  houses  along  the  streets,  he  had  to 
fight  his  way  home  with  his  back  to  the  houses  to  avoid 
discovery.  Admiral  Montague1  had  witnessed  a  good 
part  of  the  affair  from  the  house  of  a  Tory  named  Coffin  on 
Atkinson  Street  (now  Congress  Street)  near  the  head  of  the 
wharf.  Raising  a  window  as  the  lads  trooped  by,  he  hailed 
them:  "Well,  boys,  you've  had  a  fine,  pleasant  evening  for 
your  Indian  caper.  But  mind,  you've  got  to  pay  the  fiddler 
yet!"  "Oh,  all  right,  Squire,"  called  back  Pitts.  "Just 
come  out  here,  if  you  please,  and  we'll  settle  the  bill  in  two 
minutes!"  The  window  slammed  down,  the  fife  struck 
up,  and  they  marched  on,  with  shouldered  axes,  back  into 
the  town,  passing  through  the  east  end  of  Pearl  Street  from 
Flounder  Lane  (Atlantic  Avenue).  Before  leaving  the 
wharf  the  Mohawks  were  supposed  to  empty  out  their 
shoes,  but  Thomas  Melvill1  brought  away  some  tea  by 
chance.  He  was  grandson  of  a  Fifeshire  parson,  a  cadet  of 
the  Scottish  family  of  the  Earls  of  Melvill  and  Leven. 
It  is  interesting  to  recall  that  he  was  the  original  of  Holmes' 
poem,  "The  Last  Leaf." 

John  May1  also  brought  off  some  tea  by  accident,  so 
that  despite  his  coming  in  late  and  tired,  and,  worst  of  all, 
uncommunicative  to  his  expectant  Nabby,  she  drew  her  own 
conclusions  from  the  litter  on  the  floor.  Another  helper, 
Wm.  Russell,1  on  reaching  his  home  on  Temple  Street, 
carefully  turned  his  shoes  out  upon  the  hearth  and  watched 

lTea   Leaves,    LXXXI,    LXVIII,    XCVIII,    LXXIV,    CXXIX,    CXXVIII 
CLIX.      Drake. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  327 

to  make  sure  that  every  leaf  was  burnt.  John  Pulling 1  may 
have  helped  in  the  hold,  as  his  wife  long  kept  in  a  vial  a 
small  quantity  of  tea  which  had  lodged  in  his  three-cor 
nered  hat.  Thompson  Maxwell,2  later  of  Bedford,  was 
down  from  the  country  with  his  team  the  day  of  the  tea 
party,  and  had  already  loaded  at  Hancock's  warehouse  to 
return,  when  Mr.  Hancock  told  him  to  drive  his  team  up 
to  his  yard  and  be  at  hand  at  the  wharf  at  two  P.M.  He 
claims  to  have  worked  under  Hewes  and  "gone  home  as 
an  honest  man  should." 

Sarah  Bradley,3  who  had  followed  her  husband  and 
brothers  down  to  the  wharf  and  looked  on,  was  home  in 
Hollis  Street  ahead  of  them  and  had  steaming  hot  water 
handy  to  wash  off  the  paint.  Before  the  men  had  time 
to  slip  into  their  ordinary  clothes,  the  story  runs,  a  British 
officer,  having  his  suspicions,  looked  in  to  see  if  they  were 
safe  indoors.  The  young  men  drew  the  bedclothes  up 
over  their  queer  "toggery"  and  pretended  to  be  asleep,  and 
the  officer  backed  out  under  the  impression  a  late  wash 
was  under  full  headway. 

When  Joseph  Lovering3  came  home  "after  nine  o'clock," 
his  exultations  were  somewhat  tempered  by  close  question 
ing  and  reproof  on  the  part  of  his  parents  for  disobedience 
in  being  abroad  so  late. 

Joseph  Pearse  Palmer3  startled  his  wife  on  his  return. 
About  ten  o'clock,  as  she  sat  waiting  and  wondering  what 
kept  him,  she  heard  the  gate  click  and  the  latch  of  the  street 
door  lifted.  Opening  the  parlor  door,  there  confronted  her 
three  stout-looking  Indians,  at  which  she  screamed,  and 
only  the  well-known  voice  saying,  "Don't  be  frightened, 
Betty,  it's  Joe,"  prevented  her  fainting.  Mr.  Palmer 
then  explained  they  had  only  been  making  a  little  salt 
water  tea.  Josiah  Wheeler,3  forty  years  old,  a  housewright, 

1  Boston  Sunday  Globe,  April  19,  1908 

2  History  of  Middlesex  County,  II,   828.     D.  Hamilton   Kurd.      "Bedford," 
by  Abram  English   Brown.     Philadelphia,  1890:  J.  W.  Lewis  &  Co. 

•  Tea  Leaves,    XCVI,  XCVII,  CLXXXIII,  CXXXVIII,  CLXIX.     Drake. 


328    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

lived  in  the  other  half  of  a  double  house  from  Samuel 
Sprague,  already  mentioned.  This  was  on  the  west  side 
of  Orange  (now  Washington)  Street,  between  Pleasant  and 
Warren  ton  Streets.  His  wife  sat  up  late  for  him,  a 
neighbor- woman  bearing  her  company.  When  he  came  in 
and  started  to  draw  off  his  long  boots,  a  quantity  of  tea 
fell  on  the  floor,  and  the  neighbor  exclaimed,  "Save  it,  it 
will  make  a  nice  mess."  But  Mrs.  Wheeler  would  not 
hear  of  such  a  thing,  and  swept  all  of  it  in  the  fire,  saying, 
"Don't  touch  the  cursed  stuff."  Hewes'  wife  seems  to 
have  been  of  a  different  mettle.  On  being  told  what  had 
been  done  with  the  tea,  she  asked  eagerly,  "Well,  George,1 
did  you  bring  me  home  a  lot  of  it?" 

The  affair  throughout  had  been  conducted  in  an  orderly, 
spirited  manner  which  was  a  credit  to  all  concerned.  Sev 
eral  Roxbury  men,  among  them  Thomas  Dana,  Jr.,  and  his 
brother-in-law,  Thomas,1  son  of  John  Williams,  rendez 
voused  at  John  Williams'.  As  they  went  back  late  that 
night,  somebody  proposed  sacking  a  Tory's  house,  but 
Dana  and  his  brother-in-law  refused,  and  the  project  seems 
to  have  been  dropped. 

Samuel  Hammond,2  twenty -five  years  of  age,  drove  in 
that  day  from  Newton,  carrying  a  load  of  wood  to  market. 
He  did  not  get  home  until  very  late  and  had  little  to  say 
in  explanation,  but  what  kept  him  was  suspected  from  the 
tea  leaves  shaken  from  his  shoes. 

James  Swan,1  nineteen  years  of  age,  a  native  of  Fife- 
shire,  boarded  on  Hanover  Street.  Next  morning  he  and 
his  fellow  apprentices  chaffed  each  other  because  of  some 
smooches  still  showing  about  the  face.  Sam  Peck,1  a 
cooper,  was  also  that  day  a  sight  of  interest  to  his  appren 
tices,  Purkitt  and  Dolbear,  for  traces  of  red  paint  showed 
suggestively  behind  his  ears.  He  was  believed  to  have  been 
one  of  the  chiefs,  and  at  all  events  came  in  softly1  about 

*Tea    Leave*,    LXXIV,     CLXX,     CLXVIII,     CXL,     LXXXI,     CLXXVI. 

Drake. 

1  History  of  Newton,  330.     S.  F.  Smith. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  329 

one  in  the  morning.  Word  reached  Captain  Timothy 
Bigelow,1  the  Worcester  blacksmith,  the  day  after  the  party, 
by  a  post  rider  who  stopped  to  have  his  horse's  shoe  seen 
to.  When  the  man  rode  on,  Bigelow  tramped  indoors  and 
amazed  his  wife,  daughter,  and  negro  servant  by  catching 
up  a  tea  caddy,  casting  it  on  the  hearth,  and  stamping  it 
to  pieces.  An  old  rallying  song  of  the  day  runs: 

Rally  Mohawks !  bring  out  your  axes, 
And  tell  King  George  we'll  pay  no  taxes 

On  his  foreign  tea; 

His  threats  are  vain,  and  vain  to  think 
To  force  our  girls  and  wives  to  drink 

His  vile  Bohea! 
Then  rally  boys  and  hasten  on 
To  meet  our  Chiefs  at  the  Green  Dragon. 

A  ballad  has  it:2- 

Armed  with  hammers,  axes,  chisels,  — 
Weapons  new  for  warlike  deed; 
Towards  the  herbage-freighted  vessels 
They  approached  with  dreadful  speed, 

O'er  their  heads  aloft  in  mid  sky, 
Three  bright  angel  forms  were  seen; 
That  was  Hampden,  —  this  was  Sidney, 
With  fair  Liberty  between. 

Quick  as  thought  the  ships  were  boarded, 
Hatches  burst,  and  chests  displayed; 
Axes,  hammers  help  afforded; 
What  a  glorious  crash  they  made! 

Captains!  once  more  hoist  your  streamers, 
Spread  your  sails,  and  plough  the  wave, 
Tell  your  masters  they  were  dreamers: 
When  they  thought  to  cheat  the  brave! 

Then  overboard  she  goes,  my  boys, 
In  darkling  waters  roar; 
We  love  our  cup  of  tea  full  well, 
But  we  love  our  freedom  more! 

1  American  Monthly  Magazine,  August,  1894. 

1  Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution,  97.     Niles. 


330    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Early  on  the  17th  the  tea  had  been  carried  seaward  by 
the  currents,  until  it  stretched  in  a  long  windrow,  like 
hay,  clear  from  the  wharfs  to  the  Castle  (Fort  Independ 
ence).1  Seeing  this,  some  volunteers  shoved  off  in  boats  and 
stirred  it  up  so  that  it  might  be  carried  out  the  faster.  A 
part  of  the  tea  was  washed  up  on  Dorchester  Neck.  Fri 
day,  December  31st,  understanding  one  Mr.  Withington1 
of  Dorchester  had  taken  up  and  partly  disposed  of  a  chest, 
a  party  of  about  forty  Cape  or  Narragansett  Indians 
searched  a  house  occupied  by  Captain  Ebenezer  Withing 
ton  and  his  brother  Philip.  Finding  nothing,  they  kept  on 
below  the  meeting-house  to  a  part  of  Dorchester  known  as 
Sodom,  and  here  at  old  Mr.  Ebenezer  Withington's  they 
seized  a  half  chest,  which  had  been  cast  up  on  the  Point, 
and  brought  it  triumphantly  back  to  Boston,  where  it  was 
burnt  on  the  Common.  A  sample  of  the  tea  gathered  on 
the  Dorchester  shore  by  Dr.  Thaddeus  M.  Harris  1  is  now 
preserved  by  the  Worcester  Antiquarian  Society. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note  that  among  the  actors  there 
were  natives  of  Boston,  East  Boston,  Braintree,  Cambridge, 
Chesterfield,  Dorchester,  Hingham,  Holliston,  Lincoln, 
Milton,  Newton,  Roxbury,  and  Watertown,  in  Massachu 
setts;  Pomfret  and  New  London  in  Connecticut;  Thom- 
aston  and  Old  Kingston  in  Maine;  and  one  each  from  Malta, 
Lisbon,  Fifeshire  in  Scotland,  and  Staffordshire  in  Eng 
land.  The  so-called  last  survivor,  David  Kennison,  died 
in  Chicago,  1852. 

Wyeth  *  says  of  himself  and  his  mates,  next  day  they 
"pretended  to  be  as  zealous  to  find  out  the  perpetrators 
as  the  rest,  and  were  all  so  close  and  loyal,  that  the  whole 
affair  remained  in  Egyptian  darkness."  It  is  said  John 
Adams2  refused  to  have  their  names  given  him.  Indeed  a 
pledge  was  drawn  up:  "The  subscribers  do  engage  to  exert 
our  utmost  influence  to  support  and  vindicate  each  other, 
and  any  person  or  persons  who  may  be  likely  to  suffer  for 

1  Tea  Leaves,  LXXVII,  LXXIV,  LXXII.     Drake. 

2  Mem.  Hist,  of  Boston.  Ill,  50. 


THE   BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  331 

any  noble  efforts  they  may  have  made  to  save  their  coun 
try,  by  defeating  the  operations  of  the  British  Parliament, 
expressly  designed  to  extort  a  revenue  from  the  Colonies 
against  their  consent."  1  It  is  claimed  the  destruction  of 
the  tea  was  plotted  in  the  Long  Room  l  of  Edes'  printing 
office.  A  club  formed  in  1762  met  here,  of  which  Sam  Adams, 
Hancock,  Warren,  Otis,  Samuel  Dexter,  Church,  Dr.  Cooper, 
Wm.  Cooper,  John  Winthrop,  Revere,  Thomas  Dawes, 
Samuel  Phillips  Savage,  Royal  Tyler,  Thomas  Fleet, 
Molineaux,  and  Thomas  Melville  were  members.  Another 
place  closely  connected  with  its  planning  was  the  Green 
Dragon  Tavern,1  sometimes  known  as  the  Freemasons' 
Arms,  from  its  being  the  headquarters  of  St.  Andrew's 
Lodge,  of  which  Joseph  Warren  was  appointed  Grand 
Master  in  1769,  —  the  same  to  which  Revere,  Proctor, 
Thomas  Chase,  Adam  Collson,  and  other  members  of 
the  tea  party  belonged.  November  30th  they  record: 
"Lodge  met  and  adjourned.  N.  B.  The  consignees  of 
the  tea  took  the  brethren's  time.  December  16th,  The 
Lodge  met  and  closed  on  account  of  the  few  members  in 
attendance." 

A  barber,  Eckley,1  was  the  only  one  arrested  for  bearing 
a  hand  in  the  affair.  While  he  was  imprisoned,  the  Sons  of 
Liberty  cared  for  his  family.  Only  one  turned  informer, 
under  guarantee  the  trial  should  be  held  in  England;  he  was 
treated  to  tar  and  feathers.  John  Adams  2  felt  that  to  let 
the  tea  be  "landed  would  be  giving  up  the  principle  of  taxa 
tion  by  Parliament  authority,  against  which  the  country 
has  struggled  for  ten  years."  He  wrote,  the  17th,  to  General 
James  Warren  of  Plymouth,3  "Dear  Sir:  --  The  Dye  is  cast! 
The  people  have  passed  the  River  and  cut  away  the  Bridge! 
.  .  .  Armies  and  Navies  will  be  talked  of,  military  Execu 
tions  —  ...  Tryals  in  England  and  all  that.  .  .  .  But  — 
these  Terrors  are  all  but  Imaginations.  Yet  if  they  should 

1  Tea  Leaves,  CXLII,  LXVI,  LXVII,  CX.     Drake. 

2  Diary,  II,  324. 

1  Life  of  Revere,  I,  134.     Goss. 


332    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

become  Realities  they  had  better  be  suffered,  than  the 
great  Principle  of  Parliamentary  Taxation  given  up." 
Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop  J  says:  "It  became  a  simple 
question,  which  should  go  under,  British  tea  or  American 
Liberty."  A  letter 2  written  from  Boston  on  December 
13th  had  said  the  Americans  were  not  to  be  trapped  under 
the  notion  of  cheap  teas,  it  would  be  impossible  to  make 
them  swallow  it.  December  17th,2  another  spoke  of  some  of 
the  country  towns  burning  on  the  public  commons  all  the 
tea  they  had  put  by.  There  were  several  of  these  minor 
parties.  In  Charlestown,2  for  instance,  where  the  owners 
received  the  full  value  of  the  tea  before  it  was  destroyed, 
and  again  in  Newburyport,3  where  one  Eleazer  Johnson, 
a  shipmaster,  led  his  carpenters  in  burning  tea  at  the 
Market  Square.  In  Providence,  "haters  of  shackles  and 
hand  cuffs"  were  invited  to  cast  into  the  fire  the  "needless 
herb."  A  copy  of  Lord  North's  speech  and  issues  of 
Rivington's,  Mills',  and  Hick's  newspapers  helped  kindle 
the  tar  barrel,  while  a  Son  of  Liberty  plied  a  brush  and 
lamp  black  in  painting  out  the  word  "tea"  on  the  dealers' 
signboards.4  The  letter  cited  above  concludes:2  "Get  the 
Tea  Act  repealed,  and  you'll  sell  all  your  tea,  .  .  .  The 
people  will  risk  life  and  fortune  in  this  affair  —  the  very 
being  of  America  depends  on  it.  ...  I  am  sorry  the  Com 
pany  are  led  into  such  a  scrape  by  the  ministry  etc.  etc." 
It  was  felt,  however,  that  just  as  surely  as  the  company 
was  free  to  send  tea,  the  Americans  were  at  liberty  to  refuse 
it,  and  when  sent  against  the  expressed  will  of  the  people, 
it  was  at  its  own  risk. 

Already   there  had  been   considerable   stir   in   London 
over  the  first  reports   of  possible   difficulties.     December 

1  Centennial  Address,  1873.     See  Provincial  Pictures,  36.     Goodwin. 

2  Tea  Leaves,  332-3,  LXXXIII,  333.     Drake. 

3  History  of  Essex  County,  II,  742.     D.  Hamilton  Kurd.      "Newburyport," 
Wm.  T  Davis.     Philadelphia,  1888:  J.  W.  Lewis  &  Co. 

4  "  Tea  in  the  Revolution."     Mary  L.  T.  Alden.     Magazine  of  the  Daughters  of 
the  Revolution,  May,  1895. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  333 

17th,  Lord  Dartmouth  began  to  be  uneasy,  and  on  the 
20th,  the  warehouse  committee  of  the  East  India  Company 
asked  nine  of  the  principal  American  merchants  to  send 
in  any  information  which  had  reached  them  relative  to 
Boston.  The  21st  they  repeated  this  inquiry  to  five  of  the 
number.1 

Now  that  the  company's  fears  had  been  justified,  Boston 
was  to  feel  the  weight  of  British  displeasure.  But  Boston 
was  not  the  only  seaport  which  had  tea  "thrust  upon  it." 
The  first  protest  had  been  uttered  October  18th  in  a  public 
meeting  in  Philadelphia,  and  when  the  ship  was  sighted 
there,  December  25th,  corning  up  the  river,  the  consignees 
immediately  resigned  as  requested.  On  his  arrival,  the 
captain  passed  through  a  solid  lane  of  people,  and  in  def 
erence  to  their  will  consented  to  refit  at  an  island  and  make 
no  attempt  to  land,  and  presently  the  Polly,1  698  chests, 
was  on  her  way  rolling  back  to  Rotherhith.  The  Nancy 
was  loaded  with  the  same  amount  for  New  York.  Decem 
ber  27th  the  people  sent  a  letter  to  await'  her  arrival  at 
Sandy  Hook,  and  though  driven  by  storms  to  the  West 
Indies,  on  her  appearance  in  April,1  the  delivery  of  this 
letter  prevented  her  ever  coming  up  the  harbor. 

It  is  only  fair  to  state  that  Hutchinson  would  have 
gladly  been  rid  of  the  Boston  ships  thus  easily,  but  as  it 
happened  the  Eleanor  and  Beaver  brought  the  greatest 
part  of  the  goods  for  the  supply  of  New  England  in 
addition  to  the  tea2  so  that  his  plan  for  holding  the  ships 
below  the  Castle  could  not  be  carried  out.  And  once 
entered  at  the  Customs  the  Governor  could  not  suffer 
them  to  sail  without  breaking  his  oath  of  office.  Hence 
the  rub. 

At  Charleston,3  South  Carolina,  the  tea  duly  arrived 
December  2d.  The  consignee  was  persuaded  to  decline 
taking  it,  and  at  the  end  of  twenty  days  the  cargo  was  seized 

1  Tea  Leaves,  258-9,  361,  364,  366,  254,  358,  360.     Drake. 

2  Hutchinson,  Old  South  Leaflets,  No.  68,  7. 

3  The  Thirteen  Colonies,  II,  438.     Smith. 


334    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

by  the  revenue  officers;  but  nobody  would  pay  duty  on  it 
or  vend  it,  and  it  lay  in  storage  under  the  Exchange  in  a 
damp  cellar  until  it  was  utterly  worthless.  December  12th 
the  brig  Grayhound  came  up  Cohansey  Creek 1  in  hopes  that 
Greenwich,  New  Jersey,  would  be  a  sufficiently  retired  port 
to  admit  of  their  landing  tea  unhindered.  For  three  days 
all  was  quiet,  but  just  as  the  tea  had  been  lodged  in  Daniel 
Bowen's  cellar  preparatory  to  its  carriage  overland  to  New 
York,  "Indians"  collected  and  made  a  bonfire  of  it.  There 
are  said  to  have  been  a  couple  of  young  ministers  in  this 
party.  In  any  case,  the  public  sentiment  was  such  no  one 
was  punished  for  having  a  hand  in  the  exploit.  One  man, 
Stacks,  filled  his  pockets,  intending  to  carry  a  trifle  home, 
but  was  seen,  chased,  and  dragged  back  to  empty  them 
into  the  flames.  Ever  after  he  went  by  the  name  of 
"Tea"  Stacks.2 

At  Wilmington,3  North  Carolina,  Cornelius  Harnett, 
John  Ashe,  and  Hugh  Waddell  destroyed  the  tea  in  open 
day.  Somewhat  later,  at  Edenton,4  in  the  same  state,  Mrs. 
James  Iredell,  Mrs.  Hannah  Johnston,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
King,  Mrs.  Penelope  Barker,  Mrs.  Basco,  and  other  ladies 
pledged  themselves  not  to  use  tea  until  the  tax  was  re 
moved.  A  picture  on  glass  representing  this  meeting  was 
brought  to  Edenton  about  1823-24  by  Captain  Halsey,  a 
naval  friend  of  his  having  picked  it  up  in  a  barber's  shop 
on  an  island  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  likeness  of 
Mrs.  Dickerson  was  at  once  recognized  by  some  of  the 
older  townspeople.  A  copy  of  a  mezzotint,  representing 
this  patriotic  act,  now  hangs  in  the  State  library  at 
Raleigh. 

In  the  letter  already  quoted,  written  by  Andrews  to  a 

1  A  Short  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  17.     Everett  Tomlinson.     New 
York,  1901:  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co. 

2  America's  Story  for  America's  Children,  V.     The  Foundations  of  the  Republic, 
45.     Mara  L.  Pratt.     Boston,  1901 :  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

3  History  of    the   United  States,  200-1.      Alexander    H.  Stephens.       Boston. 
E.  W.  Sawyer.     Entered  1882,  by  J.  R.  Jones. 

4  Boston  Evening  Transcript,  July  7,  1902.     W.  E.  Stone. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  335 

friend  in  Philadelphia,  he  observes:  l  "If  yours,  together 
with  ye  other  Southern  provinces,  should  rest  satisfied  with 
their  quota  being  stor'd,  poor  Boston  will  feel  the  whole 
weight  of  ministerial  vengeance.  However,  it  is  the  opinion 
of  most  people  that  we  stand  an  equal  chance  now,  whether 
troops  are  sent  in  consequence  of  it  or  not;  whereas,  had  it 
been  stor'd,  we  should  inevitably  have  had  'em,  to  enforce 
the  sale  of  it." 

With  reference  to  the  Philadelphia  tea  ship  he  writes: 
"December  19th,  Sunday  Evening.  I  give  you  joy  of 
your  easy  riddance  of  the  banefull  herb;  being  just  inform 'd 
by  ye  arrival  of  the  post,  that  it's  gone  from  whence  it  came. 
You  may  bless  your  stars  that  you  have  not  a  H — n  and 
board  of  Commissioners  resident  with  you. — I  forgot  to 
acquaint  you  last  evening  that  Loring,  in  a  brig  belonging  to 
Clark,  one  of  ye  Consignees,  is  on  shore  at  ye  back  of  Cape 
Cod,  drove  thither  by  a  storm  last  Fryday  week,  who  has 
the  last  quota  of  Tea  for  this  place,  being  58  chests,  which 
compleats  the  400.  —  Am  inform'd  some  Indians  were  met 
on  ye  road  to  Plimouth,  which  is  almost  fifty  miles  this  side 
of  Cape  Cod.  Its  unlucky  that  Loring  has  ye  lamps  on 
board  for  illuminating  our  streets.  Am  sorry  if  they  are 
lost,  as  we  shall  be  depriv'd  of  their  benefit  this  winter  in 
consequence  of  it."  l 

December  17th,  a  note  2  was  despatched  from  Boston  to 
Plymouth  and  Sandwich  expressing  a  hope  "the  people  at 
the  Cape  will  behave  with  propriety  and  as  becomes  men 
resolved  to  save  the  Country."  This  hint  was  apparently 
lost  on  the  villagers,  for  we  find  Sam  Adams  writing  to 
James  Warren:  "The  tea  which  was  cast  on  shore  at  the 
Cape  has  been  brought  up,  and  after  much  consultation 
landed  at  Castle  Wm.  ...  It  is  said  that  the  Indians  this 
way,  if  they  had  suspected  the  Marshpee  tribe  would  have 
been  so  sick  at  the  knee,  would  have  marched  on  snow- 
shoes  to  have  done  the  business  for  them."  Several  chests 
were  rescued  and  auctioned  off  among  the  neighbors,  John 

1  Letters  of  John  Andrews.  2  Mem.  Hist,  of  Boston,  III,  50. 


336    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Greenough  of  Wellfleet  purchasing  one.  On  learning  of 
this,  his  father,  Deacon  Thomas  Greenough  of  Boston, 
wrote  reproachfully,  "You  have  like  Cain  sold  your  birth 
right  for  a  pot  of  message."  Next  day  he  bethought  him 
self  and  hastily  despatched  a  second  note  explaining  that 
he  had  such  a  headache  when  he  last  wrote  he  scarcely 
knew  what  he  said;  but  it  struck  him  he  had  "put  the  cart 
before  the  horse."  His  grandson,1  who  tells  the  story, 
adds,  he  appears  still  to  have  been  unconscious  of  likewise 
"putting  on  the  wrong  driver." 

There  were  other  losses  incident  to  the  tea,  and  January 
6th,  1774,  Francis  Rotch  sent  in  2  an  account  to  the  con 
signees,  with  an  apology  for  its  amount,  but  stating  he  should 
be  out  near  two  hundred  guineas  by  loss  of  his  spring  ship 
ment.  The  Dartmouth's  return  cargo  of  spermaceti  oil,  it 
seems,  had  been  brought  round  to  Boston  by  the  sloop 
Triton,  Captain  Pardon  Cook,  of  Dartmouth,  near  New 
Bedford,  of  which  Rotch  was  likewise  part  owner,  and  kept 
waiting  on  the  dock  since  December  9th.  He  now  charged 
against  the  importers  demurrage  for  his  sloop  and  ship, 
besides  wages  and  victuals  for  the  six  men  on  the  sloop  and 
two  or  three  coopers  who  had  come  with  them  and  kicked 
their  heels  ever  since  in  enforced  idleness.  Then,  in  addition, 
there  were  lawyers'  fees  for  advice,  John  Adams  coming  in 
for  a  share.  Joined  to  the  freight  charges,  the  whole  footed 
up  to  no  less  than  £289  195.  6 id.,  and  this  represented  the 
Dartmouth  solely.  Coupled  with  the  ill-will  of  the  Province 
it  had  proved  a  sorry  affair  to  the  importers.  Eventually 
the  exiled  consignees  were  promised  an  allowance  of  £150 
a  year,  being  "such  a  confounded  parcel  of  us,"  laments 
Faneuil.2  And  with  that  they  were  forced  to  content 
themselves. 

The  Committee  of  Correspondence  chose  Revere3  out 
of  a  number  of  volunteers  to  carry  word  of  what  had  taken 

1  The  late  John  James  Greenough. 

2  Tea  Leaves,  350-2,  294-5.      Drake. 
8  Life  of  Revere,  I,  131.     Goss. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  337 

place  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  He  accordingly  set 
out  the  17th,  and  reached  Philadelphia  the  day  after  Christ 
mas.  December  17th,  before  sunrise,  the  Governor1  had 
sent  off  expresses  to  summon  a  council,  but  was  unable  to 
collect  a  quorum.  A  meeting  was  therefore  appointed  for 
the  18th,  at  Milton. 

Hosmer1  says  of  Boston:  "The  doughty  little  town 
showed  capital  nerve.  .  .  .  A  mile  or  two  down  the  Bay— 
they  could  have  floated  up  in  a  few  minutes,  as  soon  as  the 
tide  began  to  flow  —  lay  Montague's  great  ships  of  war. 
.  .  .  How  could  they  tell  but  that  the  broadsides  would 
be  at  once  brought  to  bear,  and  the  town  blown  to  splin 
ters  before  the  night  had  passed!  Immediate  retribution 
did  not  come,  but  every  soul  in  Boston  knew  that  the  pen 
alty  must  fall,  as  certain  as  night  follows  day,  and  that  it 
was  likely  to  gain  in  weight  through  being  deferred."  At 
the  afternoon  meeting  of  the  16th  it  had  been  announced 
that  several  towns  were  agreed  not  to  use  tea,  and  that  it 
might  be  well  to  form  committees  of  inspection  in  every 
town,  to  "prevent  the  accursed  tea"  coming  into  their 
midst.2  December  21st  and  23d,  the  principal  tea  dealers 
met  at  the  Royal  Exchange  Tavern  to  consider  how  a  repeal 
of  the  tax  might  best  be  brought  about.  Thirty-one  were 
present  the  first  night,  among  them  Thomas  Handasyd  Peck, 
representing  his  daughter's  interest,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Perkins, 
the  mother  of  the  late  Colonel  T.  H.  Perkins,  of  Brookline. 
A  committee  of  sixteen  upon  inquiry  found  that  seventy- 
three  dealers  were  ready  to  totally  discontinue  the  sale 
of  tea,  and  thirty-eight  merchants  were  ready  to  join  with 
them,  so  far  as  refusing  to  send  over  fresh  orders  for  tea 
subject  to  duty.  Captain  Jones'  bill  for  punch,  etc.,  these 
two  evenings  came  to  £20  18s.  9d.3  Susanna  Clarke  at  this 
time  wrote: 

1  Life  of  Hutchinson,  303,  306-7.     Hosmer. 

2  Tea  Leaves,  LIX.     Drake. 

3  "The   Tea    Boycott.     How  the    Boston  Tea  Traders  of  1773    Managed." 
Boston  Evening  Transcript,  Dec.  16,  1895. 


338     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

We'll  lay  hold  of  card  and  wheel, 
And  join  our  hands  to  turn  and  reel; 
We'll  turn  the  tea  all  in  the  sea, 
And  all  to  keep  our  liberty. 

We'll  put  on  home-spun  garbs, 
And  make  tea  of  our  garden  herbs 
When  we  are  dry,  we'll  drink  small  beer 
And  Freedom  shall  our  spirits  cheer.1 

The  late  Receiver-General  of  the  Colony,  Benjamin 
Harrison,  called  by  the  Opposition  "the  Gray  Maggot,"  2 
took  a  quite  different  tone,  referring  to  the  "Party"  as 
"an  action  of  such  a  malignant,  atrocious  nature,  as  must 
expose  the  wicked  perpetrators  of  it,  without  sincere  repent 
ance,  to  the  vengeance  of  that  Being,  who  is  a  God  of  order 
and  not  of  Confusion,  and  who  will  punish  all  Thieves  as 
well  as  liars  in  the  lake  w^hich  burns  with  fire  and  brim 
stone." 

January  9th,  Thomas  Hutchinson,  Jr.,3  wrote  from  the 
Castle  he  had  had  a  "disagreeable  six  weeks  of  it"  in  the 
harbor;  on  the  21st  he  dated  his  letters  from  Milton,  where 
he  kept  pretty  close.  Mr.  Faneuil  had  then  returned  from 
the  Castle,  and  Jonathan  Clark  was  about  to  sail  for  Eng 
land.  When  it  was  rumored  the  consignees  were  venturing 
out  of  their  shelter,  a  handbill  was  issued  which  reads  quite 
fiercely,  perhaps  being  more  of  a  bark  than  a  bite. 

Brethren  and  Fellow  Citizens!  You  may  depend  that 
those  odious  miscreants  and  detestable  tools  to  ministry 
and  government,  the  TEA  CONSIGNEES,  (those  traitors  to 
their  country  —  butchers  —  who  have  done  and  are  doing 
everything  to  murder  and  destroy  all  that  shall  stand  in 
the  way  of  their  private  interest,)  are  determined  to  come 
(from  the  castle)  and  reside  again  in  the  town  of  Boston !  I 

1  American  Monthly  Magazine,  August,  1893. 

2 "  Votes    and    Resolutions    of     the     Continental     Congress,     1774,"      42. 
Magazine  of  New  England  History,  January,  1892.     Newport,  R.  I.:  R.  H.  Tilley. 
31  Tea  Leaves,  LI-LII.     Drake. 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY  339 

therefore  give  you  this  early  notice  that  you  may  hold 
yourselves  in  readiness  on  the  shortest  warning,   to  give 
them  such  a  reception  as  such  vile  ingrates  deserve, 
(signed)  JOYCE,  junior, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee  for 
Tarring  and  Feathering. 

B^If  any  person  shall  be  so  hardy  as  to  tear  this  down, 
he  may  expect  my  severest  resentment.  J.,  jun. 

In  those  days  a  man  with  this  nickname,1  in  allusion 
to  Cornet  Joyce,  who  arrested  King  Charles,  used  to  mar 
shal  the  mob  by  a  peculiar  whistle  and  ride  in  its  midst, 
his  huge  jackboots  dangling  either  side  an  ass  and  his  face 
covered  with  a  horrible  mask. 

Consoling  his  friend  Mauduit,  in  1778,  Hutchinson  says 
with  feeling: 2  "I  told  him  his  nerves  were  affected:  every 
mole-hill  was  a  mountain:  mentioned  to  him  my  lying 
awake  whole  nights  in  America,  fearing  I  should  be  called 
to  account  in  England  for  neglect  of  duty  'to  the  King  at 
the  time  of  the  Confederacies  —  at  least,  I  concluded  I 
should  suffer  much  in  my  character  for  yielding  to  the  de 
mands  of  the  people  when  my  Sons  were  in  danger."  Just 
what  the  Governor  esteemed  "yielding,"  it  is  hard  to  guess. 
His  conduct  appeared  inflexible  enough  to  onlookers,  but 
the  allusion  may  have  reference  to  his  sons'  return  to 
Milton;  and  in  any  case  is  interesting  as  showing  how 
sorely  his  composure  was  disturbed. 

January  20th,  Newell  says:3  "There  were  3  barrels  of 
Bohea  tea  burnt  in  King  Street  weight  about  7  cwt." 

January  21st,  Elisha  Hutchinson  and  Colonel  Watson 
met  with  some  abuse  at  Plymouth,  and  we  find  Peggy,  in 
a  letter4  to  her  sister-in-law,  exclaiming,  "dear  Polly,  now 

1  Warwick  History  of  England,  252,  and  Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution, 
139.     Niles. 

2  Diary  and  Letters,  II,  203.     Hutchinson. 
8  Diary.     Thomas  Newell. 

4  The  Bernards  of  Abington,  II,  256.     Biggins. 


340    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

you  know  how  to  pity  me,  who  have  been  running  from  a 
Mob  ever  since  '65!" 

January  25th,  Howe  records:1  "John  Malcom  [a  cus 
tom  house  officer],  having  done  some  violence  to  a  man, 
with  a  sword  enraged  the  multitude  that  they  took  him 
and  put  him  into  a  cart,  tarr'd  and  feathered  him,  carrying 
through  the  principal  streets  of  this  town,  with  a  halter 
about  him,  from  thence  to  the  gallows,  and  returned  through 
the  main  street,  making  great  noise  and  huzzaing  .  .  .  'tis 
supposed  .  .  .  there  were  upwards  of  twelve  hundred 
people;  tis  said  that  Malcom  behaved  with  great  forti 
tude  and  resolution.  This  was  looked  upon  by  me  and 
every  sober  man  as  an  act  of  outrageous  violence."  Next 
evening,  he  writes:  "A  great  concourse  of  people  went  in 
quest  of  the  infamous  Richardson.  They  could  not  find 
him;  very  lucky  for  him." 

1  Diary. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED 

IN  February  came  a  little  breeze  over  the  judges'  salaries. 
February  8th,  four  of  the  Supreme  Bench  signified  they 
were  willing  to  receive  theirs,  as"  heretofore,  through  the 
General  Court,  but  the  Chief  Justice,  Peter  Oliver,  a  younger 
brother  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  Andrew  Oliver,  having 
already  received  a  portion  of  his  direct  from  the  Crown, 
would  not  agree  to  this.  February  19th  the  whole  House 
remonstrated,  petitioning,  96  to  9,  for  his  removal.1  Three 
days  later  the  Supreme  Court  was  adjourned  to  June 
amid  general  uneasiness.  Colonel  Gardner  of  Allston, 
who  was  killed  at  Bunker  Hill,  is  quoted  as  saying  he  him 
self  would  drag  Oliver  from  the  Bench  if  he  should  attempt 
to  sit  on  it.2  A  popular  clamor  of  this  sort  would  be  pecul 
iarly  trying  to  the  old  judge  who  heretofore  had  been  greatly 
respected  for  his  ability  and  uprightness.  He  had  long 
since  established  an  iron  industry  at  Middleborough, 
twenty-five  miles  beyond  the  Blue  Hills,  where  he  owned 
three  hundred  acres  and  had  built  a  fine  mansion,3  Oliver 
Hall,  for  his  son,  Dr.  Peter  Oliver;  driving  back  and  forth  to 
town  in  a  coach  and  four,  with  outriders  and  postilions. 
Notwithstanding  the  turbulent  state  of  Boston  and  the 
urging  of  his  friends  to  remain  quietly  at  home,  he  now 
set  out  to  take  his  place  on  the  Bench  as  usual,  but  was 
forced  to  return  by  a  heavy  snowstorm,  and  soon  after 
word  of  his  impeachment  was  brought  by  a  messenger, 
who  is  said  to  have  wept  as  he  told  his  errand.4  In  this 
month  Hutchinson4  wrote  to  Lord  Dartmouth,  "The  people, 

1  American  Revolution,  I,  345.     Gordon. 

2  Diary  and  Letters,  I,  145.     Hutchinson. 

3  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  July,  1886. 

4  Diary  and  Letters,  I,  145-6,  116.     Hutchinson. 

341 


342    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

my  lord,  in  every  Colony,  more  or  less,  have  been  made  to 
believe  that,  by  firmly  adhering  to  their  demands,  they  may 
obtain  a  compliance  with  every  one  of  them."  The  Gov 
ernor  at  this  time  took  peculiar  satisfaction  in  his  seal,  we 
may  suppose,  which  bore  the  motto:  LIBERTATEM  COLO; 
LICENTIAM  DETESTOR. 

March  5th  the  Massacre  was  commemorated  by  an 
oration  in  the  Old  South;  John  Hancock  l  saying  in  the 
course  of  his  speech: 

Permit  me  to  suggest  a  general  congress  of  deputies, 
from  the  several  houses  of  assembly  on  the  continent,  as 
the  most  effectual  method  of  establishing  such  an  union, 
.  .  .  for  the  security  of  our  rights  and  liberties.  .  .  .  Re 
member  from  whom  you  sprang.  .  .  .  Not  only  pray,  but 
act;  ...  if  necessary,  fight,  and  even  die  for  the  prosperity 
of  our  Jerusalem.  ...  I  have  the  most  animating  confi 
dence  that  the  present  noble  struggle  for  liberty,  will  ter 
minate  gloriously  for  America.  And  let  us  play  the  man  for 
our  God,  and  the  cities  of  our  God;  while  we  are  using  the 
means  in  our  power,  let  us  humbly  commit  our  righteous 
cause  to  the  great  Lord  of  the  universe,  who  loveth  right 
eousness  and  hateth  iniquity.  And  having  secured  the 
approbation  of  our  hearts,  by  a  faithful  and  unwearied 
discharge  of  our  duty  to  our  country,  let  us  joyfully  leave 
our  concerns  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  raiseth  up  and  put- 
teth  down  the  empires  and  kingdoms  of  the  world  as  He 
pleases. 

When  this  was  reported  over-seas  he  was  ordered  to  be 
hung2  in  Boston.  The  office  of  selectman  in  Boston  was  no 
easy  one  in  1774.  The  men  honored  by  the  town's  confi 
dence  at  the  annual  election  this  spring  are  worthy  of 
remembrance;  they  were  John  Scollay,  John  Hancock, 
Timothy  Newell,  Thomas  Marshall,  Samuel  Austin,  Oliver 

1  Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution,  42.     Niles. 

2  Landmarks,  340.     Drake. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  343 

Wendell,  John  Pitts,  David  Jeffries,  town  treasurer,  and 
Wm.  Cooper,  town  clerk. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  Captain  Benjamin  Gorham,  nine 
weeks  from  London,  arrived  with  28i  chests  Bohea.  The 
next  evening  Indians,  reported  to  be  of  the  Oknookortun- 
kogg  tribe,  fed  the  fishes  with  them.1 

For  several  months  past  Governor  Hutchinson  had  been 
feeling  that  something  decisive  must  be  done  to  bring  the 
rebellious  town  up  short;  at  the  same  time,  as  a  New  Eng- 
lander,  he  wished  to  temper  the  Crown's  displeasure  so  far 
as  was  consistent  with  a  recognition  of  Parliament's  supre 
macy.  If  he  could  be  on  the  spot  he  felt  that  he  might  help 
much  toward  a  just  solution.  He  had,  therefore,  planned 
for  a  voyage  to  England,  when  the  death  of  his  brother-in- 
law,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight, 
left  him  alone  at  the  helm.  At  his  funeral  on  the  8th  of 
March,  Parson  Stiles  tells  us,  "the  Assembly  then  sitting 
at  Boston  adjourned  to  attend  the  Solemnity.  But  those 
who  ordered  the  Procession  putting  the  Navy  Officers  next 
after  the  mourners,  the  Assembly  was  disgusted,  and  the 
Council  and  Representatives  turned  off  out  of  the  Proces 
sion  and  proceeded  to  the  Town  house.  After  this  the 
Multitude  followed  without  Order  &  in  promiscuous  Con 
fusion  to  the  Grave.  Johnny  Malcom,  a  Custom  house 
officer,  following  the  Mourners,  the  Boys  insulted  him,  and 
after  the  Grave  was  covered,  gave  three  Cheers.  At  the 
Grave  a  Gentleman  was  heard  to  speak  aloud  within  hear 
ing  of  Governor  Hutchinson's  Coach,  that  he  hoped  within 
a  fortnight  they  should  be  called  to  render  the  same  last 
Office  to  the  Governor  himself.  Such  is  the  public  Disgust, 
and  such  the  Tumult  of  the  Times."2  It  is  even  said3  that 
Chief  Justice  Peter  Oliver  dared  not  attend  his  brother's 
funeral  for  fear  of  lynching. 

Returning  to  England,  we  find  the  Privy  Council  meeting 

1  Diary.     Thomas  Newell.     March  6-7. 

2  Diary,  I,  437.     Stiles. 

1  Diary  and  Letters,  I,  147.  Hutchinson. 


344    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

in  the  latter  part  of  January,  at  the  "Cockpit,"  —  where  the 
Treasury  now  stands,  —  to  consider  the  petition  of  Massa 
chusetts  for  the  removal  of  Governor  Hutchinson.  Both 
sides  were  represented  by  counsel.  John  Dunning,  a  former 
Solicitor-General,  later  Lord  Ashburton,  spoke  in  the  inter 
est  of  the  Province;  David  Wedderburn,  later  Lord  Chan 
cellor,  under  the  title  of  Lord  Loughborough,  spoke  three 
hours  in  opposition,  in  behalf  of  Mauduit,  agent  for  the 
Crown  officers  in  Boston.  He  did  not  scruple  at  calling 
Franklin  a  "hoary-headed  traitor,"  l  or  charging  him  with 
the  theft  of  the  letters.  "Men  will  watch  him,"  2  said  he, 
"with  a  jealous  eye;  they  will  hide  their  papers  from  him, 
and  lock  up  their  escrutoires."  It  should  be  remembered 
this  was  not  an  examination  respecting  the  letters,  but  when 
Franklin,  eminent  for  his  personal  attainments  and  the  rep 
resentative  of  four  considerable  Colonies,  was  3  presenting 
a  solemn  petition  from  a  wronged  Province.  Yet  none 
of  the  five-and-thirty  peers  present  recalled  the  Solicitor- 
General  to  his  subject,  and  many  laughed  aloud.  Burke, 
Jeremy  Bentham,  and  Dr.  Priestley  were  struck  with  the 
dignity  of  Franklin's  behavior  under  Wedderburn's  abuse; 
indeed,  breakfasting  next  day  with  the  Doctor,  Franklin 
remarked  he3  "never  before  had  been  so  sensible  of  the 
power  of  a  good  conscience."  At  the  end  of  the  hearing 
the  Council  pronounced  the  petition  "scandalous,"  and 
declared  that  in  their  judgment  the  people  had  petitioned 
merely  "for  the  seditious  purposes  of  keeping  up  a  spirit  of 
clamor  and  discontent  in  the  said  Province,  "adding  they  were 
"humbly  of  opinion,  that  the  said  petition  ought  to  be  dis 
missed."  Shortly  after  Franklin3  was  informed  that  he  had 
been  superseded  in  the  office  of  deputy  postmaster-general. 
This  same  month  the  news  of  the  tea  party  reached 
London,  although  it  was  not  officially  announced  until 
March,  by  which  time  letters  from  Governor  Hutchinson, 

1  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Ill,  369-70.     Bryant  and  Gay. 

2  Annals,  172.     Morse. 

8  Our  Country,  II,  711,  713-14.     Lossing. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  345 

Admiral  Montague,  the  consignees,  and  from  other  royal 
governors  had  been  received  and  laid  before  the  House. 
Meanwhile  the  King  had  given  audience  to  General  Gage, 
lately  come  from  New  York,  who  said:  "I  am  willing  to 
go  back  at  a  day's  notice  if  coercive  measures  are  adopted. 
They  will  be  lions  while  we  are  lambs;  but,  if  we  take  the 
resolute  part  they  will  undoubtedly  prove  very  weak. 
Four  regiments  sent  to  Boston  will  be  sufficient  to  prevent 
any  disturbance."  l 

Influenced  in  part  by  these  representations,  Lord  North 
on  the  7th  of  March  delivered  the  King's  message  to  Parlia 
ment,  which,  after  reference  to  "  the  violent  and  outrageous 
proceedings  at  the  town  and  port  of  Boston,  with  a  view  of 
obstructing  the  commerce  of  this  Kingdom,"  observed  too 
much  lenity  perhaps  had  been  shown  heretofore,  and  con 
cluded  by  pointing  out  that  the  high-handed  actions  of 
the  Bostonians  "had  left  Government  perfectly  at  liberty 
to  adopt  any  measures  they  should  think  convenient,  not 
only  for  redressing  the  wrong  sustained  by  the  East  India 
Company,  but  for  inflicting  such  punishment  as  their  fac 
tious  and  criminal  conduct l  merited."  The  fining  of  com 
munities  for  neglect  in  punishing  local  offences  was  not 
without  precedent  as  readers  of  the  "Heart  of  Midlothian" 
will  remember  in  the  case  of  the  Porteous  riot  of  1735. 
It  was  in  vain  Barre  reminded  the  House  if  Parliament 
kept  its  hands  out  of  the  Americans'  pockets 2  there  would 
be  no  quarrel.  "The  town  of  Boston  ought  to  be  knocked 
about  the  ears  and  destroyed,"  cried  one  of  the  members.3 

The  principle  that  influenced  the  Bostonians  was  under 
rated  and  the  destruction  of  the  tea  regarded  as  so  much 
wanton  mischief.  This  brought  many  over  to  the  side  of 
Government,  and  to  make  matters  worse  Lord  North  had 
gathered  the  foremost  lawyers  about  him,  who  would  rather 
split  hairs  than  effect  an  accommodation. 

1  Hist,  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  309.     Spencer. 

2  Life  of  Hutchinson,  312.     Hosmer. 
8  Our  Country,  II,  707.     Lossing. 


346    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

It  is  not  surprising  then  that  he  introduced  without 
delay  the  famous  Boston  Port  Bill,  by  which  it  was  decreed : 
Since  the  commerce  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  could  not  be 
safely  carried  on,  nor  customs  duly  collected,  —  On  and 
after  the  first  day  of  June  it  should  not  be  lawful  for  any 
person  to  lade  or  unlade,  to  ship  or  unship  any  goods  from 
any  quay  or  wharf  within  said  harbor;  except  stores  for  his 
Majesty,  and  fuel  and  provisions  for  the  inhabitants. 
Not  a  pound  of  hay,  sheep,  or  calf  could  be  brought  to 
town  from  the  Islands.  Nor  a  stick  of  lumber  or  package 
of  merchandize  taken  from  wharf  to  wharf,  let  alone 
to  Charlestown  or  Dorchester.  Marblehead,  twenty-eight 
miles  distant,  was  made  the  port  of  entry,  and  Salem  the 
seat  of  government.  By  its  provisions  sailors,  merchants, 
laborers,  and  artificers  were  thrown  out  of  work  and  the 
capital  locked  up  in  shops,  wharves,  tenements,  and  ships 
made  useless.1  This  act  was  to  be  enforced  until  such  time 
as  the  East  India  Company  had  been  paid  in  full  and  the 
King  was  satisfied  with  the  good  conduct  of  the  town.2 
Moreover,  the  charter  was  declared  forfeit,  and  a  new  form 
of  government  proposed.  As  the  law  stood  the  Governor 
had  only  a  veto  in  the  choice  of  his  Council  and  no  voice 
in  the  appointment  of  magistrates.  Since  a  magistrate 
alone  could  call  out  the  soldiery  to  the  support  of  the  laws, 
and  seven  councillors  must  approve  3  the  Governor's  every 
order  before  it  took  effect,  where  Council  and  magis 
trates  held  one  view  and  the  Governor  another,  as  was  now 
come  to  pass,  only  friction  could  be  looked  for.  By  the 
proposed  change,  the  choice  of  the  Governor's  Council 
rested  with  the  Crown,  and  the  King  or  Governor  had  the 
sole  voice  in  the  appointment  of  judges,  magistrates, 
and  sheriffs.3  The  sheriff  4  was  given  the  power  of  calling 
the  juries,  and  no  town  meetings,  save  for  the  purpose  of 

1  Mem.  Hist,  of  Boston,  III,  54,  and  Our  Country,  II,  719.     Lossing. 

2  American  Revolution,  130.     Sears. 

3  War  in  America,  I,  412-13,  413,  415.     Murray. 

4  Our  Country,  II,  709.     Lossing. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  347 

an  annual  election,  could  be  held  without  the  Governor's 
leave.  This  was  to  take  effect  after  September  1st.  It 
was  likewise  provided  by  a  so-called  bill  for  the  im 
partial  administration  of  justice  that  for  a  term  of  four 
years  any  magistrates,  revenue  officers,  and  soldiers,  charged 
with  capital  offences,  could  be  tried  in  England  or 
Nova  Scotia,  the  expenses  to  be  met  by  the  custom  dues. 
The  Port  Bill  was  supported  in  the  Lords  by  Lords  Mans 
field,  Gower,  Littleton,  Weymouth,  Suffolk;  and  opposed 
by  the  Dukes  of  Richmond  and  Manchester,  the  Marquis 
of  Rockingham,  Lord  Camden,  Earl  Shelburne,  Lord 
Temple,  and  Lord  Stairs.1  In  the  Commons  the  bill  was 
opposed  by  Burgoyne,  the  ex-Governor  of  Florida,  one 
Johnstone,  a  "dashing  sailor,"  and  Captain  Phipps,  after 
wards  Lord  Mulgrave.  These  debates  are  still  full  of 
interest.  Speaking  in  March,  Johnstone  said:2 

Mr.  Speaker  —  I  find  so  much  difficulty  in  pronouncing 
my  sentiments  at  any  time,  that  unless  the  house  is  kindly 
disposed  to  hear  me  at  this  late  hour,  I  shall  patiently  sit 
down,  because  I  am  conscious  it  will  require  their  greatest 
indulgence  to  enable  me  to  express  myself  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  their  attention.  ...  I  now  venture  to  predict 
to  this  house,  that  the  effect  of  the  present  bill  must  be 
productive  of  a  general  confederacy,  to  resist  the  power  of 
this  country.  It  is  irritating,  tempting,  nay,  inviting  men 
to  those  deeds,  by  ineffectual  expeditions,  the  abortions  of 
an  undecisive  mind,  incapable  of  comprehending  the  chain 
of  consequences  which  must  result  from  such  a  law.  .  .  . 
The  question  of  taxing  America  is  sufficiently  nice  to  palli 
ate  resistance,  if  the  subject  had  never  been  litigated  in 
this  country;  but,  after  the  highest  characters  in  the  state 
had  declared  against  the  right  of  this  country  to  impose 
taxes  on  America,  for  the  purposes  of  revenue;  after  the 

1  American  Archives  A  Documentary  History,  l^th  Series,  I,  60.     Washington, 
1837.    Published  by  M.  St.  Clair  Clarke  and  Peter  Force  under  an  Act  of  Congress 
passed  1833. 

2  Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution,  411,  412-13.     Niles. 


348    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

general  voice  of  the  senate  had  concurred  in  repealing  the 
stamp-act,  upon  that  principle;  after  those  men,  who  had 
maintained  these  doctrines,  had  been  promoted  by  his 
Majesty  to  the  first  stations  in  the  administrations  of  civil 
and  judicial  affairs,  there  is  so  much  mitigation  to  be  pleaded 
in  favor  of  the  Americans,  from  these  circumstances  (allow 
ing  them  in  an  error  at  present)  that  every  man  must  feel 
the  height  of  cruelty,  by  enforcing  contrary  maxims,  with 
any  degree  of  severity  at  first,  before  due  warning  is  given. 
.  .  .  The  blocking  up  of  the  harbor  of  Boston,  to  pre 
vent  the  importation  of  British  manufacture,  or  the  expor 
tation  of  goods  which  are  to  pay  for  them,  is  a  measure 
equally  absurd  as  if  the  Parliament  here,  upon  the  resist 
ance  which  was  made  to  their  resolution,  by  the  riots  of 
Brentford,  and  other  disturbances  in  the  county  of  Middle 
sex,  had  decreed,  by  way  of  punishment,  that  the  freeholders 
should  have  been  prohibited  from  sowing  wrheat.  For 
whose  benefit  do  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  toil  and  labor! 
The  springs  in  the  circle  of  commerce  bear  so  nicely  on 
each  other,  that  few  men  can  tell  by  interrupting  one,  the 
degree  and  extent  to  which  the  rest  may  be  exposed.  .  .  . 
For  my  own  part  I  am  convinced,  from  experience  in  the 
colonies,  that  good  government  may  be  conducted  there 
upon  rational  grounds,  as  well  as  in  this  country;  but  the 
power  and  means  of  governing,  rewards  and  punishments, 
are  taken  from  your  supreme  executive  magistrate  in  every 
sense,  and  then  you  are  surprised  that  all  order  and  obedi 
ence  should  cease.  The  colonies  can  only  be  governed  by 
their  assemblies,  as  England  by  the  house  of  commons: 
the  patent  officers,  as  well  as  those  in  the  customs,  which 
were  formerly  given,  at  the  recommendation  of  the  govern 
ors,  to  men  supporting  government,  and  residing  in  the 
provinces,  are  now  given  in  reversion,  three  or  four  lives 
deep,  to  men  living  in  this  country.  The  command  of  the 
military,  which  was  another  great  source  of  respect  and 
obedience,  is  likewise  taken  from  the  governor;  so  that  in 
truth  he  remains  an  insignificant  pageant  of  state.  .  .  . 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  349 

The  first  essential  point  in  these  disputes  which  are 
now  likely  to  become  so  serious,  by  the  weakness  of  admin 
istration  in  this  country,  in  following  no  connected  plan, 
either  of  force  or  favor,  but  constantly  vibrating  between 
the  two,  is  to  put  ourselves  in  the  right,  and  for  this  purpose 
I  would  recommend  the  immediate  repeal  of  the  tea  duty, 
which  can  be  vindicated  upon  no  principles,  either  of  com 
merce  or  policy. 

Ex-Governor  Pownall,  Bollan,  Burke,  and  Dowdes- 
well  joined  in  the  protest,  but  without  effect,  and  the 
Port  Bill  received  the  royal  assent  March  31st. 

Respecting  the  changes  in  the  charter,  it  was  objected1 
by  the  Whigs: 

"It  is  a  thing  of  no  little  peril  to  undertake  the  reforma 
tion  of  charters.  The  princes  of  the  house  of  Stewart 
found  it  so,  who  lost  the  crown,  in  attempting  to  gratify 
so  fatal  an  ambition.  Great  Britain  has  always  held  similar 
proceedings  in  just  abhorrence:  and  how  can  she  now  her 
self  pretend  to  imitate  them?  Hitherto,  the  Americans  have 
only  complained  of  the  loss  of  one  of  their  immunities; 
but,  at  present,  it  is  proposed  to  usurp  them  all.  .  .  . 
And  what  is  the  unpardonable  offence  the  Americans 
have  been  guilty  of?  Of  no  other  but  that  of  refusing 
their  consent  to  an  act  that  was  contrary  to  the  written 
laws,  and  to  the  unalterable  principles  of  the  British 
Constitution." 

Again,  on  the  second  reading  of  the  bill  "for  Regulat 
ing  the  Civil  Government  in  Massachusetts  Bay,"  in  the 
latter  part  of  April,  Mr.  Fuller2  objected,  since  copies  of  the 
Massachusetts  charters  which  had  "been  ordered  before 
the  house  were  not  yet  laid,  he  would  venture  to  say  that 
no  man  knew  the  constitution  of  that  government." 
Stephen  Fox,  shortly  Lord  Holland,  supported  his  brother 
Charles  in  much  the  same  strain,  saying:3  "I  rise,  Sir,  with 

1  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  178,  180.     Botta. 

2  Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution,  4 It.     Niles. 
8  American  Revolution,  I,  188.     Trevelyan. 


350    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

an  utter  detestation  and  abhorrence  of  the  present  meas 
ures.  We  are  either  to  treat  the  Americans  as  subjects  or 
as  rebels.  If  we  treat  them  as  subjects,  the  bill  goes  too 
far;  if  as  rebels,  it  does  not  go  far  enough.  We  have  refused 
to  hear  the  parties  in  their  defence,  and  we  are  going  to 
destroy  their  charter  without  knowing  the  constitution  of 
their  government." 

Sir  George  Saville,  for  his  part,  protested:  x  "I  do  not 
like  to  be  present  at  a  business,  which  I  think  inconsistent 
with  the  dignity  and  justice  of  this  house;  I  tremble  when 
I  am,  for  fear  of  the  consequences." 

Mr.  Welbore  Ellis,  on  the  other  hand,  thought  the  meas 
ure  justified  by  the  Council's  neglecting  to  advise  Governor 
Hutchinson  when  appealed  to  in  November  last,  and  its 
adjourning,  as  it  then  did.  General  Con  way  spoke  next, 
and  after  making  apologies  for  his  "weak  voice,"  with 
which  he  feared  to  tire  the  House,  proceeded:1  "but  I 
do  think,  and  it  is  my  sincere  opinion,  that  we  are  the 
aggressors  and  innovators,  and  not  the  colonists.  We 
have  irritated  and  forced  laws  upon  them  for  these  six 
or  seven  years  last  past.  We  have  enacted  such  a  variety 
of  laws,  with  these  new  taxes,  together  with  a  refusal  to 
repeal  the  trifling  duty  on  tea;  all  these  things  have 
served  no  other  purpose  but  to  distress  and  perplex." 
He  was  followed  by  Lord  North,  who  denounced  Massa 
chusetts.  "The  Americans,"  said  he,1  "have  tarred  and 
feathered  your  subjects,  plundered  your  merchants,  burnt 
your  ships,  denied  all  obedience  to  your  laws  and  au 
thority;  yet  so  clement  and  forbearing  has  our  conduct 
been,  that  it  is  incumbent  upon  us  now  to  take  a  different 


course." 


Mr.  C.  Jenkinson  went  so  far  as  to  observe  that  the 
Colony  had  "in  every  instance  disobeyed  the  laws  of  [Eng 
land],"  and  ended: l  "Either  let  this  country  forsake  its  trade 
with  America,  or  let  us  give  that  due  protection  to  it  which 
safety  requires." 

1  Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution,  415-17.     Niles. 


- 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  351 

Mr.  Harris,  after  remarking  of  America:  "that  country, 
sir,  was  hatched  from  this,  and  I  hope  we  shall  always  keep  it 
under  the  shadow  of  our  wings,"  wound  up  composedly:1  "I 
insist  upon  it,  they  are  bound  to  obey  both  the  crown  and 
parliament.  The  last  twelve  years  of  our  proceedings  have 
been  a  scene  of  lenity  and  inactivity."  Ex-Governor 
Pownall  rose  to  correct  the  impression  l  that  the  Governor 
could  not  act  save  in  concert  with  the  Council;  he  might 
and  should  have  done  so.  The  Council's  action  was  "in 
excusable,  though  not  criminal,  as  they  were  not  obliged 
to  give  an  opinion.  .  .  .  Things  are  now  come  to  action; 
and  I  must  be  free  to  tell  the  house,  that  the  Americans 
will  resist  these  measures:  they  are  prepared  to  do  it.  I 
do  not  mean  by  arms,  but  by  the  conversation  of  public 
town  meeting;  they  now  send  their  letters  by  couriers, 
instead  of  the  post,  from  one  town  to  another;  and  I  can 
say  your  post  office  will  very  soon  be  deprived  of  its 
revenue.  With  regard  to  the  officers  who  command  the 
militia,  they  will  have  them  of  their  own'  appointment, 
and  not  from  Government;  but  I  will  never  more  give  an 
opinion  concerning  America  in  this  house: those  I  have 
given  have  been  disregarded." 

Mr.  Rigby  sarcastically  l  inquired:  "Pray  in  what  man 
ner  shall  a  requisition  be  obtained?  Is  the  King  to  demand 
it,  or  are  we,  the  legislative  power  of  this  country,  to  send  a 
very  civil,  polite  gentleman  over  to  treat  with  their  assem 
blies?  How  and  in  what  manner  is  he  to  address  that 
assembly?  Is  he  to  tell  the  speaker  that  we  have  been  ex 
tremely  ill  used  by  our  neighbors  the  French;  that  they  have 
attacked  us  in  several  quarters;  that  the  finances  of  this 
country  are  in  a  bad  state;  and  therefore  we  desire  you 
will  be  kind  enough  to  assist  us,  and  give  us  some  money? 
Is  this  to  be  the  language  of  this  country  to  that;  and  are 
we  thus  to  go  cap  in  hand?" 

When  he  sat  down  the  bill  was  at  once  committed  for 
the  Friday  following  without  a  division,  and  passed  the 

Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution,  417-8.     Niles. 


352    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

House,  239  yeas,  64  nays;  and  the  Lords,  92  yeas,  20 
nays. 

Richmond,  Portland,  Abirigdon,  King,  Effingham,  Pon- 
sonby,  Rockingham,  Abergavenny,  Leinster,  Craven,  and 
Fit  z william  afterwards  dissented  from  the  Boston  Port  Bill 
and  the  changes  in  the  charter,  regarding  them  as  unconsti 
tutional,  and  asserted  in  a  written  protest  that  an  "unfair 
advantage"  had  been  taken  to  pass  them  1  in  their  absence 
from  the  House  and  afterwards  enter  them  on  the  Records 
as  "passed  without  a  division." 

When  the  bill  for  conducting  trials  beyond  seas  was 
under  consideration,  Alderman  Sawbridge,2  referring  to  the 
recent  acts,  declared:  "If  the  Americans  do  not  reject 
them  all  they  are  the  most  abject  slaves  upon  earth,  and 
nothing  the  ministers  can  do  is  base  enough  for  them." 
Barre  objected  in  his  turn: 3  "The  people  will  not  endure 
it;  they  would  no  longer  deserve  the  reputation  of  being 
descended  from  the  loins  of  England  if  they  did  endure  it. 
.  .  .  Instead  of  sending  them  the  olive  branch,  you  have 
sent  the  naked  sword.  By  the  olive-branch,  I  mean  a 
repeal  of  all  the  late  laws,  fruitless  to  you,  and  oppressive  to 
them.  Ask  their  aid  in  a  constitutional  manner,  and  they 
will  give  it  to  the  utmost  of  their  ability.  Your  journals 
bear  the  recorded  acknowledgement  of  the  zeal  with  which 
they  have  contributed  to  the  general  necessities  of  the  state. 
What  madness  is  it  that  prompts  you  to  attempt  obtain 
ing  that  by  force  which  you  may  more  certainly  obtain  by 
requisition?  They  may  be  flattered  into  anything,  but 
they  are  too  much  like  yourselves  to  be  driven." 

Lord  Germaine  rose  in  defence  and  said: 

4 "If  I  believed  that  the  measure  in  question  could  be 
deemed  unjust  and  tyrannical,  I  certainly  should  not  under 
take  to  support  it  against  such  vehement  attacks.  But  as  I 

1  American  Revolution,  I,  355.     Gordon. 

2  Our  Country,  II,  710.     Lossing. 

*  Hist,  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  310-11.     Spencer. 

4  War  of  the  Independence  of  America,  I,  181-2.     Botta. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  353 

think  it,  on  the  contrary,  not  only  just,  but  seasonable  and 
necessary,  I  shall  freely  defend  it,  even  at  the  risk,  in  so 
doing,  of  wounding  the  delicate  ears  of  the  orators  seated 
opposite.  The  trial  of  the  military  on  this  side  of  the  water 
has  been  much  objected  to.  What  is  it,  sir,  but  a  protection 
of  innocence?  Can  anything  be  more  desirable  to  generous 
minds,  than  that?  America,  at  this  instant,  is  nothing 
but  anarchy  and  confusion  .  .  .  where  are  the  courts  of 
justice?  Shut  up.  Where  are  your  council?  Where  is 
your  Governor?  All  of  them  intimidated.  .  .  .  Can  you 
expect  in  the  midst  of  such  tumults  .  .  .  that  these  men 
could  have  a  fair  trial?  No;  assuredly  not.  ...  It  is 
objected,  that  these  proceedings  are  to  deprive  people  of 
their  natural  right.  Let  me  ask,  of  what  natural  right? 
Whether  that  of  smuggling,  or  of  throwing  tea  overboard? 
-  or  of  another  natural  right,  which  is  not  paying  their 
debts?  ...  It  is  not  a  military  government  that  is  estab 
lished;  but  the  alteration  of  a  civil  one,  by  which  it  is  made 
conformable  to  existing  circumstances." 

The  question  being  then  put,  the  bill  was  carried,  in 
the  House,1  127  yeas,  24  nays;  and  in  the  Lords,2  by  43 
yeas,  12  nays. 

Richmond,  Fitzwilliam,  Ponsonby,  Rockingham,  Port 
land,  Craven,  Leinster,  and  Manchester  again  entered  a 
protest,3  deeming  the  bill  "to  compel  the  transportation 
...  of  any  number  of  witnesses  .  .  .  without  any  regard  to 
their  age,  sex,  health,  circumstances,  business,  or  duties,"  as 
"extravagant"  and  "impracticable"  to  such  a  degree  "as  to 
confirm  us  further  in  our  opinion  of  the  spirit  which  animates 
the  whole  system  of  the  present  American  regulations." 

A  fourth  bill  was  then  brought  forward  making  the  quar 
tering  and  feeding  of  the  soldiers  compulsory.  When  it 
was  announced,  Rose  Fuller,4  a  moderate  Government  man, 

1  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  182.     Botta. 

2  American  Archives,  4th  Ser.,  I,  128.     Force. 

3  American  Revolution,  I,  356-7.     Gordon. 

4  Our  Country,  II,  710.     Lossing. 


354    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

tried  to  temper  the  severity  of  these  successive  repressive 
acts  by  one  last  request  that  the  tea  tax  be  repealed.  This 
proposal  being  rejected,  he  rose  gravely  and  said:  "I  will 
now  take  my  leave  of  the  whole  plan;  you  will  commence 
your  ruin  from  this  day!  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  not  only 
the  House  has  fallen  into  this  error,  but  the  people  approve 
of  the  measure.  The  people,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  have  been 
misled.  But  a  short  time  will  prove  the  evil  tendency  of 
this  bill.  If  ever  there  was  a  nation  rushing  headlong  to 
ruin,  it  is  this!"  His  warning  was  unheeded;  and  the 
Quebec  bill  quickly  followed.  By  its  terms  the  Canadian 
boundary  was  extended  to  include  the  western  lands 
lying  between  the  Ohio,  Mississippi,  and  the  Great  Lakes, 1 
i.e.,  Ohio,  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Michigan,2  although  the 
region  was  claimed  by  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  the  Province  having 
already  exceeded  the  bounds  as  set  by  Royal  Proclama 
tion  in  1763.  At  the  same  time  a  legislative  council  was 
to  be  formed  for  carrying  on  all  the  Province's  affairs  — 
save  the  levying  of  taxes  —  the  Crown  appointing  the 
councillors  (Roman  Catholics  being  made  eligible)  for  an 
indefinite  period  while  found  satisfactory;  it  also  gave3 
French  law  and  trial  without  jury  in  civil  cases,  and  Eng 
lish  law  and  trial  with  jury  in  criminal  cases,  besides  secur 
ing  tithes  to  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy.  These  measures 
were  supposed  to  be  intended  to  conciliate  the  French 
Canadians  and  secure  the  Province  from  defection,  although 
now  recognized  to  have  been  a  plan  long  under  advise 
ment.4  For  some  time  past  the  New  England  colonists 
had,  not  without  reason,  dreaded  lest  Parliament  should 
impose  an  established  church  in  the  New  World  with  its  6 
accompaniment  of  tithes,  glebe  lands,  and  test  oaths. 

1  History  of  the  United  States,  184-5.     John  Frost.     Philadelphia,  1851. 

2  A  Short  History  of  the  United  States,  89.     Edward  Channing.     New  York, 
1900:  The  Macmillan  Company. 

3  War  in  America,  I,  410.     Murray. 

4  "  Colonies  and  Nation."     Harper's  Monthly,  September,  1901. 

5  Annals,  198-9.     Morse. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED      355 

Doctor  Seeker, l  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in  1758,  had  the 
matter  much  on  his  heart.  Several  years  before,  when  still 
Bishop  of  Oxford,  in  addressing  the  Society  for  the  Propa 
gation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  he  had  apparently 
in  all  good  faith  referred  to  the  English  planters  in  America 
as  having  in  too  many  cases  "carried  but  little  sense  of 
Christianity  abroad  with  them.  A  great  part  of  the  rest," 
he  continues,  "suffered  it  to  wear  out  gradually;  and  their 
children  grew  of  course  to  have  yet  less  than  they;  till  in 
some  countries  there  were  scarce  any  footsteps  of  it  left, 
beyond  the  mere  name."  Now  that  he  was  archbishop, 
this  supposed  deplorable  state  of  affairs  in  the  distant 
colonies  preyed  heavily  on  his  mind.  Speaking  to  Dr. 
Langdon  of  Portsmouth  in  17G4,  the  Rev.  George  White- 
field2  had  expressed  grave  fears  that  a  "deep  laid  plot 
against  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  poor  New  Eng 
land"  was  imminent.  This  bill  accordingly  awoke  the 
suspicions  of  the  dissenters,  who  realized  if  Parliament 
could  lay  down  the  law  concerning  the  religious  privileges 
of  one  Province  it  might  shortly  tamper  writh  any  or  all. 

The  administration  did  not  escape  caricature;  the  West 
minster  Magazine  for  April  showed  a  cut  representing 3 
the  White  Hall  Pump,  with  Britannia  fallen  on  her  child, 
America,  near-sighted  Lord  North  pumping  upon  her, 
and  the  Magna  Charta,  Coronation  Oaths,  &c.,  £c.,  scat 
tered  on  the  ground.  By  the  side  of  Lord  North  stands 
Lord  Mansfield,  formerly  Mr.  Murray,  the  Lord  Chancel 
lor,  who  was  chiefly  concerned  in  drawing  up  the  "puni- 
tory"  acts  following  the  Port  Bill.  Born  in  1705,  he  was 
now  sixty-nine  years  of  age  and  often  the  butt  of  Pitt's 
attacks.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  of  his  being  the  ablest 
debater  in  the  House,  it  is  said  he  was  not  ready  at  turning 
a  personal  assault,  and  sometimes,  though  every  word  of  an 
opponent's  speech  would  be  Murray,  he  simply  sat  listen- 

1  Universal  Magazine.     London,  December,  17G8. 

2  American  Revolution,  I,  143.     Gordon. 

3  Caricature  History,  331.     Wright. 


356    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

ing  in  "agitated  silence."  1  In  June  appeared  Revere's 
caricature  entitled  "The  Bitter  Draught,"  which  shows 
Lord  Mansfield  holding  down  an  Indian  girl,  North  America, 
while  Lord  North  forces  the  teapot  to  her  lips. 

The  following  bit  of  English  correspondence  is  interest 
ing  at  this  stage.  The  letters  are  from  Edward  Gibbon, 
the  historian,  to  J.  Holroyd,  later  Lord  Sheffield.2 

Feb.  7,  1774. 
Dear  Holroyd, 

You  may  suppose  that  nothing  very  important  has 
occurred  since  you  left  town:  but  I  will  send  you  some 
account  of  America  after  Monday,  though  indeed  my  anx 
iety  about  an  old  manor  takes  away  much  of  my  attention 
from  a  new  Continent.  The  mildness  of  Godfrey  Clarke 
is  roused  into  military  fury;  but  he  is  an  old  Tory,  and 
you  only  suppose  yourself  an  old  Whig.  I  alone  am  a  true 
Englishman,  Philosopher  and  Whig. 

Boodles,  March  16,  1774. 

Very  little  that  is  satisfactory  has  transpired  of  Amer 
ica.  On  Monday  Lord  North  moved  for  leave  to  bring  in 
a  bill  to  remove  the  customs  and  courts  of  justice  from 
Boston  to  New  Salem;  a  step  so  detrimental  to  the  former 
town,  as  must  soon  reduce  it  to  your  own  terms;  and  yet 
of  so  mild  an  appearance,  that  it  was  agreed  to,  without  a 
division,  and  almost  without  a  debate.  Something  more 
is,  however,  intended,  and  a  Committee  is  appointed  to 
enquire  into  the  general  state  of  America.  But  the  admin 
istration  keep  their  secret  as  well  as  that  of  free  masonry, 
and,  as  Coxe  profanely  suggests,  for  the  same  reason. 

March  29,  1774. 

America.  Had  I  written  Saturday  night,  as  I  once  in 
tended,  fire  and  sword,  oaths  of  allegiance  and  high  trea 
son  tried  in  England,  in  consequence  of  the  refusal,  would 
have  formed  my  letter.  Lord  North,  however,  opened  a 

1  Anecdotal  History  of  Parliament,  123.     Jennings. 

2  Magazine  of  American  History,  May,  1886. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  357 

most  lenient  prescription  last  night;  and  the  utmost  at 
tempts  towards  a  new  settlement  seemed  to  be  no  more  than 
investing  the  Governors  with  a  greater  share  of  executive 
power,  nomination  of  civil  officers,  (judges,  however,  for 
life,)  and  some  regulations  of  juries.  The  Boston  Port  bill 
passed  the  Lords  last  night;  some  lively  conversation,  but 
no  division.  .  .  .  Rose  Fuller  was  against  the  Boston  Port 
bill,  and  against  his  neice's  going  to  Boodle's  masquerade 
[perhaps  the  one  given  by  the  Boodle's  club  at  Ranelagh, 
May  4th,  costing  2000  guineas].  He  was  laughed  at  in  the 
first  instance,  but  succeeded  in  the  second. 

April  13,  1774. 

We  are  all  quiet.  American  business  is  suspended  and 
almost  forgot.  The  other  day  we  had  a  brisk  report  of  a 
Spanish  war.  It  was  said  they  had  taken  one  of  our  Lee 
ward  Islands.  It  since  turns  out,  that  we  are  the  invaders, 
but  the  invasion  is  trifling. 

The  question  was  not  so  lightly  dismissed  from  the  minds 
of  those  most  keenly  concerned.  Upon  the  first  rumor  of 
what  was  preparing  the  Committee  of  Correspondence, 
through  Dr.  Warren,  called  a  meeting  of  representatives 
from l  Dorchester,  Roxbury,  Brookline,  Newton,  Cambridge, 
Charlestown,  Lynn,  and  Lexington  to  confer  with  those  of 
Boston  in  Faneuil  Hall,  March  12th.  Sam  Adams  presided 
at  this  meeting,  when  it  was  voted  that  in  their  opinion,1 
"if  the  other  colonies  come  into  a  joint  resolution  to  stop 
all  importation  from,  and  exportation  to,  Great  Britain 
and  every  part  of  the  West  Indies  till  the  act  be  repealed, 
the  same  will  prove  the  salvation  of  North  America  and  her 
liberties;  and  that  the  impolicy,  injustice,  inhumanity, 
and  cruelty  of  the  act  exceed  all  our  powers  of  expression, 
we,  therefore  leave  it  to  the  just  censure  of  others,  and 
appeal  to  God  and  the  world." 

With  the  sitting  of  the  spring  law  courts  fresh  compli 
cations  arose.  By  accepting  his  salary  from  the  Crown  on 

1  Life  of  Revere,  I,  143.     Goss. 


358    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

the  new  basis,  Chief  Justice  Peter  Oliver  had  made  him 
self  so  objectionable  in  Worcester  county  that  the  grand 
jurors 1  refused  to  be  sworn  at  the  April  term  unless  assured 
he  would  not  preside.  Colonel  Putnam  and  forty-two 
royalists  on  this  occasion  opposed  the  patriotic  resolutions 
passed  by  the  town  of  Worcester  at  their  annual  meeting, 
and  desired  that  another  meeting  might  be  called,  hoping 
to  reverse  their  tenor.  This  attempt  failed,  but  not  before 
the  town  clerk  had  been  induced  to  copy  their  petition  on 
his  records.  This  excited  the  patriots  to  such  a  degree 
it  was  ordered  to  be  erased,  and  when  the  clerk  hesitated, 
he  had  his  fingers  thrust  in  the  ink-well  and  drawn2  to  and 
fro  over  the  page  for  his  pains;  it  is  said  the  blackened  page 
may  be  seen  to  this  day.1 

In  the  spring  of  1774  there  was  the  keenest  apprehen 
sion  that  since  the  Governor  was  entirely  dependent  on 
the  Crown,  and  the  councillors  in  the  way  of  becoming  his 
tools,  the  judges  on  no  account  must  be  suffered  to  lose  their 
independence,  or  the  liberties  were  gone  past  recovery. 
"I  had  a  real  respect  for  the  Judges,"  writes  John  Adams;3 
"three  of  them,  Trowbridge,  Cushing,  and  Brown,  I  could 
call  my  friends.  Oliver  and  Ropes,  abstracted  from  their 
politics,  were  amiable  men,  and  all  of  them  were  very 
respectable  and  virtuous  characters."  Happening  to  dine 
out  while  the  question  was  in  agitation,  he  suggested  to 
the  others  present  that  there  seemed  to  him  a  way  to  meet 
the  difficulty  no  less  constitutional  than  satisfactory; 
this  was  for  the  House  of  Representatives  to  impeach  the 
judges  before  the  Council  —  an  act  without  precedent  here, 
truly,  but  of  a  piece  with  the  rights  and  privileges  of  Eng 
land  in  permitting  the  House  of  Commons  to  exercise  a 
similar  power  before  the  House  of  Lords.4  Next  day  Major 
Hawley  called  on  him  and  inquired  into  the  nature  of  an 

1  History  of  Worcester  County,  II,  1430,  D.  Hamilton  Hurd.     "Worcester  " 
by  P.  Emory  Aldrich,  LL.D.       Philadelphia,  1889:  J.  W.  Lewis  &  Co. 

2  American  Revolution,  197.     Trevelyan. 

3  Diary,  II,  328-30. 

4  Life  and  Works,  IX,  597. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  359 

impeachment  and  was  referred  to  the  State  Trials  for  vari 
ous  examples.  Hawley  then  talked  the  matter  over  with 
his  friend,  Judge  Trowbridge  (who  had  personally  re 
nounced  his  salary  on  the  new  basis).  The  judge  felt  the 
House  could  justify  its  action,  but  since  the  Council  would 
never  support  the  motion,  what  would  be  accomplished? 
Adams'  own  feeling  was  that  every  effort  should  be  made 
to  arrive  at  a  peaceful  solution,  however  untried  was  the 
path.  In  the  end  a  committee,  of  which  Hawley  was 
one,  drew  up  Articles  impeaching  Chief  Justice  Oliver, 
which  were  adopted  by  the  House;  but,  as  had  been 
foreseen,  they  were  rejected  by  the  Council.  The  check, 
however,  had  been  given,  for  at  the  sitting  of  the  Su 
perior  Court  in  Boston,  the  grand  and  petit  jurors,  in 
formed  how  matters  stood  through  the  newspapers,  refused 
to  take  the  oaths  while  accusation  was  still  pending 
against  the  chief  justice,  an  example  followed  throughout 
the  Province. 

The  countryside  was  as  keen  as  Boston  in  holding  on 
to  its  rights.  Adams  tells  us:  "Within  the  course  of 
the  year  before  the  meeting  of  Congress,  in  1774,  on  a 
journey  to  some  of  our  circuit  courts  in  Massachusetts,  I 
stopped  one  night  at  a  tavern  in  Shrewsbury,  about  forty 
miles  from  Boston,  and  as  I  was  cold  and  wet,  I  sat  down  at 
a  good  fire  in  the  bar-room  to  dry  my  great  coat  and  saddle 
bags  till  a  fire  could  be  made  in  my  chamber.  There  pres 
ently  came  in,  one  after  another,  half  a  dozen,  or  half  a 
score,  substantial  yeomen  of  the  neighborhood,  who,  sit 
ting  down  to  the  fire  after  lighting  their  pipes,  began  a 
lively  conversation  upon  politics.  As  I  believed  I  was 
unknown  to  all  of  them,  I  sat  in  total  silence  to  hear  them. 
One  said,  'The  people  of  Boston  are  distracted.'  Another 
answered,  'No  wonder  the  people  of  Boston  are  distracted. 
Oppression  will  make  wise  men  mad.'  A  third  said,  'What 
would  you  say  if  a  fellow  should  come  to  your  house  and 
tell  you  he  was  come  to  take  a  list  of  your  cattle,  that  Par 
liament  might  tax  you  for  them  at  so  much  ahead?  And 


360    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

how  should  you  feel  if  he  was  to  go  and  break  open  your 
barn,  to  take  down  your  oxen,  cows,  horses,  and  sheep?' 
'What  should  I  say?'  replied  the  first.  'I  would  knock  him 
in  the  head.'  'Well,'  said  a  fourth,  'if  Parliament  can  take 
away  Mr.  Hancock's  wharf  and  Mr.  Rowe's  wharf,  they 
can  take  away  your  barn  and  my  house.'  After  much 
more  reasoning  in  this  style,  a  fifth,  who  had  as  yet  been 
silent,  broke  out,  'Well,  it  is  high  time  for  us  to  rebel;  we 
must  rebel  some  time  or  other,  and  we  had  better  rebel 
now  than  at  any  time  to  come.  If  we  put  it  off  for  ten  or 
twenty  years,  and  let  them  go  on  as  they  have  begun,  they 
will  get  a  strong  party  among  us,  and  plague  us  a  great 
deal  more  than  they  can  now.  As  yet,  they  have  but  a 
small  party  on  their  side." 

Definite  word  of  the  Port  Bill's  being  passed  reached  the 
doomed  town  by  the  Harmony,  Captain  Shaler,  five  weeks 
from  London,  on  May  10th.  "The  severest  act  ever  was 
penned  against  the  town,"  groaned  John  Rowe.1  Three 
days  later  Thomas  Newell  notes 2  the  arrival  of  his  Majesty's 
ship  Lively,  Captain  Bishop,  twenty-six  days  from  Lon 
don,  with  General  Gage,  the  new  Governor,  aboard.  He 
had  been  sent  out  to  relieve  Hutchinson  in  order  that  he 
might  make  a  personal  report  on  the  situation  in  London. 
The  Hon.  Thomas  Gage,  second  son  of  the  first  Viscount 
Gage,  had3  seen  service  at  Fontenoy  and  Culloden  besides 
being  a  veteran  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  when  he 
had  served  under  Braddock,  Amherst,  and  Wolfe.  He  was 
now  about  fifty-two  years  of  age. 

At  a  town  meeting  held  in  Boston  the  day  of  his  arrival, 
Sam  Adams  drew  up  an  appeal  to  the  other  Colonies  in 
reference  to  the  Port  Bill,  which  was  sent  on  to  New  York 
and  Philadelphia;  Paul  Revere  again  riding  messenger  in 
this  hour  of  the  Colony's  distress.  This  ran:4  "The  people 
receive  the  edict  with  indignation.  It  is  expected  by  their 
enemies,  and  feared  by  some  of  their  friends,  that  this  town 

1  Diary.  8  Landmarks,  125,  243.     Drake. 

2  Diary.  4  Life  of  Revere,  I,  144.     Goss. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  361 

singly  will  not  be  able  to  support  the  cause  under  so  severe 
a  trial.  As  the  very  being  of  every  colony,  considered  as 
a  free  people,  depends  upon  the  event,  a  thought  so  dishon 
orable  to  our  brethren  cannot  be  entertained  as  that  this 
town  will  be  left  to  struggle  alone."  A  committee  was 
chosen  to  go  to  several  towns  representing  the  case,  and  on 
the  14th,  Revere  l  started  on  his  way,  riding  express  on  a 
large  gray  horse.  The  day  he  left,  the  New  York  Sons  of 
Liberty  gathered  at  Hampden  Hall,  where  they  wrote  en 
couragement  to  Boston,  and  sent  the  letter  forward  by  John.' 
Ludlow,  who  rode  a  black  horse.  The  two  expresses  met 
near  Providence  and  lunched  beside  a  spring,  on  the  edge 
of  a  wood  just  unfolding  its  young  leaves.  Then  they 
parted  to  continue  their  journey.  As  he  rode  on,  Revere 
scattered  in  the  villages  copies  of  the  act,  edged  with  black 
and  headed  emblematically  with  a  skull  and  cross-bones, 
surmounted  by  a  crown.  The  cap  of  Liberty  was  figured 
below  the  bones  to  indicate  all  was  death  and  destruction 
between  the  crown  and  liberty.  As  the  'horse  dashed  on 
a  crowd  collected,  and  the  handbills  were  hawked  about 
the  streets  with  the  cry,  "Barbarous,  cruel,  bloody  and 
inhuman  murder!" 

For  this  service  a  bill  was  rendered  by  David  Wood,1 
May  28th,  running: 

To  a  Journey  of  My  Horse  to  Kingsbridge,  New  York 
234  miles  at  3s.  pr  Mile  £30  2s  Qd. 

Upon  his  return  he1  wrote  to  the  Gazette:  "Nothing  can 
exceed  the  indignation  with  which  our  brethren  in  Rhode 
Island,  Connecticut,  New  York  and  Philadelphia  have 
received  this  proof  of  ministerial  madness.  They  univer 
sally  declare  their  resolution  to  stand  by  us  to  the  last 
extremity."  This  ride  was  far-reaching  in  its  consequences, 
for  on  the  evening  of  his  arrival  the  Philadelphia  patriots 
met  and  their  Committee  of  Correspondence  advised  as  a 
first  step  the  calling  of  a  GENERAL  CONGRESS  of  all  the  col- 

1  Life  of  Revere,  I,  148,  147.     Goss. 


362    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

onies;1  while  the  Bostonians  were  pronounced2  the  "living 
martyrs  of  liberty,  the  generous  defenders  of  the  rights 
of  man:  worthy  descendents  of  their  virtuous  and  heroic 
ancestors." 

May  17th,  says  Rowe: 3  "This  morning  General  Gage 
landed  from  the  Castle  .  .  .  and  [was]  received  at  the  Long 
Wharf  by  Colo.  Hancock's  Company  of  Cadets.  The  Regi 
ment  was  under  arms  in  King  Street  ...  he  came  to  the 
Town  house,  had  his  commission  read  by  the  Secretary,  and 
took  the  usual  oaths;  from  thence  he  was  escorted  to  Faneuil 
Hall,  where  a  good  dinner  by  His  Majesty's  Council." 
Thomas  Newell4  adds,  "Governor  Hutchinson,  that  bad 
Governor,"  dined  with  him.  Andrews5  says  when  Hutchin- 
son's  name  was  given  as  a  toast  it  was  hissed,  and  during 
the  banquet  his  effigy  is  said  to  have  been  burnt  on  the 
Common. 

In  response  to  Sam  Adams'  appeal,  Salem  and  Newbury 
promptly  said  that  they  would  lay  up  their  shipping  if 
the  non-importation  movement  became  general.  Another 
group  wished  to  patch  up  a  truce.  May  18th,5  in  Boston 
Town  Meeting,  Jonathan  Amory  referred  hopefully  to 
George  Erving's  offer  of  a  personal  subscription  of  £2000 
toward  a  fund  for  compensating  the  tea  losses.  This, 
however,  aroused  little  enthusiasm.  At  the  same  meeting, 
when  the  Port  Bill  came  to  be  read,  the  Town6  "Voted 
unanimously,  1st.  That  the  Trade  of  the  Town  of  Boston 
has  been  an  essential  Link  in  that  vast  Chain  of  Commerce, 
which  in  the  Course  of  a  few  Ages,  has  raised  New  England 
to  be  what  it  is,  the  Southern  Provinces  to  be  what  they  are, 
the  West  Indian  Islands  to  their  Wealth  &,  in  One  WTord, 
the  British  Empire,  to  that  Height  of  Opulence,  Power, 
Pride  &  Splendor,  at  which  it  now  stands.  —  2ly.  That  the 

1  Life  of  Revere,  I,  146.     Goss. 

2  War  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  190.     Botta. 

3  Diary. 

4  Diary,  May  17. 

6  Letters  of  John  Andrews. 

6  Boston  Town  Records,  1770-77,  175. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  363 

Impolicy,  Injustice,  Inhumanity,  &  Cruelty,  of  the  Act 
aforesaid,  exceed  all  our  Powers  of  Expression  &  Concep 
tion,  we  therefore  leave  it  to  the  just  Censure  of  others,  & 
appeal  to  God  &  the  World.  - 

May  23d  the  little  fishing  hamlet  of  Marblehead  had 
a  town  meeting,  held,  as  the  warrant l  ran,  for  the  purpose 
"of  taking  into  consideration  the  alarming  situation  to 
which  we  are  all  reduced  (it  being  no  less  than  this,  whether 
we  shall  hereafter  be  freemen  or  slaves)."1  They  adjourned 
in  the  afternoon  to  May  31st  and  in  evasion  of  the  new  law, 
by  successive  adjournments,  forty-six  meetings  were  held 
under  the  original  warrant,  the  last  on  April  3d,  1775,  ten 
months  and  ten  days  later! 

April  9th  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  had  written  from  Lon 
don  to  General  Gage,  urging  "mild  and  gentle  persuasion." 
"At  the  same  time,"  he  continued,  "the  sovereignty  of 
the  King,  in  his  Parliament,  over  the  Colonies  requires  a 
full  and  absolute  submission2  be  made,  the  town  of  Boston 
where  so  much  anarchy  and  confusion,  have  prevailed, 
should  cease  to  be  the  place  of  the  residence  of  his  Governor, 
or  of  any  other  officer  of  government  who  is  not  obliged  by 
law  to  perform  his  functions  there." 

May  25th,  Gage  accepted  as  members  of  his  Council 
the  following: 

Samuel  Danforth  Richard  Derby,  Jr. 

John  Erving  James  Otis 

James  Pitts  William  Seaver 

Artemus  Ward  Walter  Spooner 

Benjamin  Greenleaf  Jeremiah  Powell 

Caleb  dishing  Benjamin  Chadburn 

Samuel  Phillips  George  Leonard,  Jr. 

Jedediah  Preble 

rejecting3  thirteen.  After  which,  in  accordance  with  his 
instructions,  the  Legislature  was  adjourned  to  June  7th, 

1  Hist,  of  Marblehead,  109-10.     Roads. 

2  American  Archives,  4th  Ser.,  I,  245-6.     Force. 

3  Provincial  Pictures,  44.     Goodwin. 


364    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

at  Salem.  The  ships  were  stationed  to  command  the  town, 
the  officers  left  to  protect  the  loyalists,  and  General  Gage 
forsook  the  Province  House.  This  building,  dating  from 
1679,  stood  on  Washington  Street  near  Milk.  It  had  been  the 
Governor's  residence  since  1717,  and  its  cupola  was  topped 
by  an  Indian,  Massachusetts'  emblem,  with  the  Royal  Arms 
over  the  entrance.  There  were  lodges  at  either  gate,  shade 
trees  dotted  the  lawn,  and  sentinels  paced  to  and  fro. 
Province  Street  and  Court  were  then  stable  avenues. 

The  same  day  that  the  Legislature  adjourned1  123 
Bostonians,  including  merchants  and  traders,  twenty-four 
of  the  bar,  the  Church  of  England  clergy  and  wardens, 
presented  Governor  Hutchinson  with  a  "warm,  affectionate, 
and  respectful"  address,  on  the  occasion  of  his  departure  for 
England.  From  this  they  acquired  the  name  of  Addressers. 
Over  against  each  name2  was  set  the  signer's  occupation; 
Andrew  Faneuil  Phillips  is  said  to  have  had  "nothing" 
placed  opposite  his  name,  and  when  his  attention  was 
called  to  it,  he  replied,  "Better  be  nothing  with  one  side 
than  everything  with  the  other." 

About  this  time,  the  story  goes,  some  British  officers, 
walking  after  sunset  on  Beacon  Hill,  took  sounds  in  the 
air  (supposed  to  be  flying  beetles)  for  bullets  from  air  guns 
and  fled  to  camp,  writing  home  alarming  accounts  which 
were  put  in  the  newspapers,  leading  McFingal,  a  few  years 
later,  to  remark:3 

No  more  the  British  colonel  runs 
From  whizzing  beetles  as  air  guns; 
Thinks  horn -bugs,  bullets,  or  through  fear 
Musketoes  takes  for  musketeers; 
Nor  'scapes,  as  if  you'd  gained  supplies 
From  Beelzebub's  whole  host  of  flies, 
No  bug  these  warlike  hearts  appals; 
They  better  know  the  sound  of  balls. 

1  Letters  of  John  Andrews,  note  331. 

2  Familiar  Letters  of  John  Adams  and  his  wife  Abigail  Adams  during  the  Revo 
lution,  19.     Charles  Francis  Adams.     New  York,  1876:  Hurd  and  Houghton. 

3  Annals,  190.     Morse. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  365 

There  were  hopes  at  first  that  perhaps  Gage  might 
prove  a  conciliatory  Governor.  Andrews1  quotes  a  cur 
rent  rhyme: 

"May  Gage  be  both  impower'd,  and  inclin'd  to  close 
The  wounds  now  opening  by  our  cruel  foes ! 
May  N-h  repent  etc.,  etc." 

He  then  refers  feelingly  to  the  "dejection  imprinted  on 
every  countenance  in  this  once  happy,  but  now  totally 
ruin'd  town;"  and  adds  the  act  could  not  have  been  "more 
strongly  express'd  if  all  the  Devils  in  the  infernal  regions 
had,  had  a  hand  in  draughting  it." 

An  old  book  of  Custom-house  records,  lately  recovered, 
contains  the  following  letter  2  announcing  the  Port  Bill : 

Gentlemen : 

Pursuant  to  directions  which  I  received  from  the  Com 
missioners  of  his  Majesty's  Customs  in  America  to  send  by 
the  earliest  opportunity  to  the  Officers  of  the  several  ports 
Copies  of  all  such  Acts  as  may  be  passed  relative  to  the 
American  Revenue,  I  herewith  submit  to  you  the  Boston 
Port  Bill.  I  am, 

Gent. 
Yr  Most  Obt.  H.  Servt. 

J.  MARTIN  LEAKE. 
Whitehall,  Treasury  Chambers,  6  April,  1774. 

In  accordance  with  the  above,  May  26th,  Commis 
sioners  Benjamin  Hallowell,  Henry  Hulton,  Charles  Paxton, 
and  William  Burch  issued  orders  to  their  subordinates  for 
the  enforcement  of  the  new  law.  By  its  provisions  only 
vessels  carrying  food  and  fuel  were  permitted  to  enter  the 
harbor,  and  then  only  on  condition  that  they  could  show 
papers  of  "transire"  or  "lettpass."  Further  it  was  pointed 
out,"  You  are  on  no  account  to  grant  such  Transire  or  Lett- 
pass  till  you  are  satisfied  that  the  vessels  have  been  thor 
oughly  examined  and  searched,  and  that  they  have  no  other 

1  Letters,  May  18.  *  Boston  Herald,  December  17,  1899. 


366    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Goods  or  Merchandize  on  board  except  such  as  are  allowed 
by  the  said  Act  to  be  carryed  to  the  Town  of  Boston."  And 
moreover,  "You  are  to  put  on  board  every  such  Vessel  a 
Tidesman  with  a  sufficient  number  of  armed  men  [i.e., 
from  the  64th  regiment  stationed  near  Marblehead]  for 
his  Defence  to  attend  such  vessels  to  the  Town  or  Harbor 
of  Boston." 

June  1st,  Rowe  writes: 1  "This  is  the  last  day  any  ves- 
sell  can  enter  this  harbor  until  this  fatall  Act  of  Parliament 
is  repealed.  Poor  unhappy  Boston.  God  knows  only  thy 
wretched  fate.  I  see  nothing  but  misery  will  attend  thy 
inhabitants."  Says  Andrews2  again,  "Yes,  Bill,  nothing 
will  save  us  but  an  entire  stoppage  of  trade,  both  to  Eng 
land  and  the  West  Indies,  throughout  the  continent:  and 
that  must  be  determin'd  as  speedily  as  absolutely.  The 
least  hesitancy  on  your  part  to  the  Southerd,  and  the  matter 
is  over;  we  must  acknowledge  and  ask  forgiveness  for  all 
past  offences,  whether  we  have  been  guilty  of  any  or  no; 
give  up  the  point  so  long  contested;  and  acknowledge  the 
right  of  Parliament  to  d — n  us  whenever  they  please;  and 
to  add  to  all  this,  we  must  pay  for  an  article  unjustly  forced 
upon  us  with  a  sole  view  to  pick  our  pockets  (not  that  I 
would  by  any  means  justify  the  destruction  of  that  article). 
When  that  is  done,  where  are  we?  Why,  in  much  the  same 
situation  as  before,  without  one  flattering  hope  of  relief." 

The  same  day  Governor  Hutchinson,  his  son  Elisha,  and 
daughter  Peggy  sailed  in  the  Minerva,  Captain  Callahan, 
for  England.  His  once  honored  name  had  lost  favor  3  and 
Hutchinson  Street  became  Pearl  Street,  while  the  town  of 
Hutchinson  took  the  name  of  "Barre,  the  champion  of  Lib 
erty,"  spurning  that  of  one  4  "who  had  acted  the  part  of  a 
traitor  and  parricide,"  and  thus  given  its  people  "a  very 

1  Diary. 

2  Letters,  May  18. 

3  Life  of  Hutchinson,  324.     Hosmer. 

4  A  Memorial  of  the  One  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the  Incorporation  of  the 
Town  of  Barre,  June  17,  1874,  85.   Published  by  the  Town.      Cambridge,   1875: 
John  Wilson  and  Son. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  367 

disagreeable  sensation  of  mind!"  Three  transports  from 
London  anchored  off  Nantasket  as  the  late  Governor  set 
forth.  Troubles  thickened  behind  him.  June  2d  word 
came  to  Boston,  via  Marblehead,  and  Bristol,  England,  of 
the  blow  struck  at  the  charter  received  from  King  William 
and  Queen  Mary.  Rowe  l  felt  it  would  "sour  the  minds" 
of  his  countrymen  and  that  reconciliation  was  "fan*  off." 
Andrews2  was  in  despair.  The  Committee  of  Correspond 
ence  had  taken  it  upon  them  to  draw  up  a  solemn  League 
and  Covenant,  for  every  adult  inhabitant  in  each  town  to 
sign,  obligating  themselves  to  go  without  any  and  all  Eng 
lish  goods,  those  on  hand  not  excepted.  This  cut  off  inland 
trade  as  well,  and  was  a  grievous  burden. 

Harrison  Gray 3  refers  to  the  Covenant  as  a  "most 
wicked,  diabolical  handbill,"  and  tells  us  it  was  sent  to  every 
town  and  district  in  the  Province  calling  upon  the  inhab 
itants  for  signature.  He  continues:  "In  many  towns  the 
minister  of  the  parish  set  them  the  example  of  signing  first, 
and  then  called  upon  his  parishioners  to  engage  in  the  same 
covenant,  and  to  sign  it  upon  the  communion  table,  and  it 
is  reported  that  a  certain  clergyman  in  the  county  of  Plym 
outh,  gravely  told  his  people,  that  they  who  refused  to 
sign  it  were  not  worthy  to  come  to  that  table.  I  do  not 
pretend  to  say  positively  that  this  is  a  fact,  though  it  is 
generally  believed."  The  title  of  this  League  recalling  as 
it  did  the  Scottish  Covenanters,  had  an  alarming  sound  to 
Gage,  and  he  4  issued  a  proclamation  warning  all  good  sub 
jects  to  keep  out  of  it,  and  adjuring  the  magistrates  to  arrest 
and  hold  its  abettors  in  custody. 

He  had  made  his  headquarters  since  leaving  Boston  at 
Danvers,  in  a  house  built  by  Robert  Hooper-  "King" 
Hooper  of  Marblehead;  he  also  occupied,  as  an  office,  the 
south  front  room  in  the  Captain  Jeremiah  Page  house, 

1  Diary. 

2  Diary,  June  12,  July  22. 

8  "An  Interesting  Pamphlet,"  47.     Dr.  Samuel  A.  Green.     Magazine  of  New 
England  History,  January,  1892.     Newport,  1891:  R.  H.  Tilley. 
4  War  in  America,  I,  426-7.     Murray. 


368    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Danvers  Square,  using  in  part  his  own  furniture;  some  green 
flag  chairs  being  left  behind  when  he  came  away.  The 
Page  family  tradition  is,1  "The  Governor  was  as  pretty 
a  man  in  the  house  as  was  ever  seen."  He  had  a  very 
inadequate  notion  of  the  Opposition,  and  is  said  while  sitting 
on  a  log  to  have  made  an  easy  motion  with  his  arm  and 
observed  comfortably,  "We  shall  soon  quell  these  feelings 
and  govern  all  this."  2  Two  companies  of  the  64th 
Scottish  regiment  formed  his  military  escort  and  camped 
in  the  field  opposite  the  Hooper  house. 

When  the  Legislature  opened  in  Salem  the  Tories  felt 
that  they  had  come  out  on  top  and  could  do  what  they 
pleased.  One  of  them,  handsomely  dressed,  was  sitting  in 
the  clerk's  seat,  the  centre  of  a  group,  when  Sam  Adams 
entered,  but  made  no  move  to  rise.  Adams  looked  him 
squarely  in  the  face  and  at  the  same  time  said,  3"Mr» 
Speaker,  where  is  the  place  for  your  clerk?"  His  occu 
pied  chair  was  indicated  and  Adams  replied,  "Sir,  my 
company  will  not  be  pleasant  to  the  gentlemen  who 
occupy  it.  I  trust  they  will  remove  to  another  part  of  the 
house,"  which  they  did. 

A  day  or  two  later  the  fifteen  councillors  still  in  office 
waited  upon  Gage  with  an  address,  and,  having  declared 
an  invincible  attachment  to  their  rights  and  liberties,  they 
expressed  a  fervent  hope  that  his  administration  would  be 
in  happy  contrast  to  Hutchinson's  and  Bernard's,  and 
would  have  continued  further,  but  at  this  point  the  Governor 
took  offence  and4  stopped  the  reading. 

The  days  went  by  and  the  Tories  did  not  dream  of 
Adams'  plans;  by  means  of  private  caucusses5  held  in  the 
evening,  however,  these  were  quietly  perfected,  and  on 
the  17th  day  of  June,  129  members  being  present,  a  resolu- 

1  Beside  Old  Hearth-stones,  180.     Abram  English  Brown.     Boston,  1897:  Lee 
and  Shepard. 

2  Historic  Pilgrimages  in  N.  E.t  173.     Bacon. 

3  Samuel  Adams,  57.     Fallows. 

4  Provincial  Pictures,  48.     Goodwin. 

6  American  Revolution,  I,  365-6.     Gordon. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  369 

tion  awoke  them  from  their  drowsy  security.  This  was  to 
appoint  James  Bowdoin,  Thomas  Gushing,  the  Speaker, 
Sam  and  John  Adams,  and  Robert  Treat  Paine  of  Taunton 
delegates  to  the  proposed  Continental  Congress  at  Phila 
delphia  the  following  September.  A  great  hubbub  followed; 
some  of  the  Tories  tried  to  leave  the  hall,  but  Sam  Adams  l 
was  before  them,  turned  the  key  in  the  lock  and  put  it  in  his 
pocket.  Speeches  in  opposition  were  made  by  several 
Tories,  and  one,  under  color  of  illness,  escaped  from  the  room 
and  made  known  to  Gage  the  turn  things  had  taken.  The 
Governor  wrote  a  message  dissolving  the  meeting,  which 
was  delivered  to  Secretary  Flucker.  The  Town-house  in 
those  days  stood  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Washington 
and  Essex  Streets;  here  Flucker  hurried  with  all  speed,  but 
was  kept  knocking  at  the  door  until  the  vote  having  been 
carried  117  to  12  and  the  delegates  duly  elected,  he  was 
admitted  and  his  message  heard.  Their  main  business  had 
now  been  accomplished,  and  the  patriots  were  content  to  dis 
perse.  Upon  the  same  day,  at  a  town  meeting  held  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  John  Adams  presiding,  it  was  voted:  Not  to  pay  the 
East  India  Company  l  because  "surrounded  by  bayonets." 
A  story  of  Parson  Byles2  belongs  to  this  period.  Watch 
ing  the  regulars  parading  on  the  Common  one  day,  he 
observed  humorously  to  an  acquaintance,  "Who  says  our 
grievances  are  not  red-dressed?"  "That  won't  do,  doctor, 
you  have  two  d's,"  was  the  reply,  whereupon  he  retorted 
complacently,  "I  have  a  right  to  'em.  I  got  'em  from 
Aberdeen  in  '65." 

"June  10,"  Rowe3  reports,  "The  transports  with  the  4th 
Regiment  are  arrived  from  Southampton  this  morning."  The 
next  group  of  letters  shows  the  frame  of  mind  in  which  two 
young  officers,  ordered  to  Boston,  set  forth.  The  originals 
of  Lord  Percy's  letters  are  at  the  Boston  Public  Library. 4 

1  Our  Country,  II,  721.     Lossing. 

2  "A  Tory  Parson,"  Louise  Imogen  Guiney.     Atlantic  Monthly,  April,  1887. 

3  Diary. 

4  Earl  Percy's  Letters.     Boston  Public  Library  Bulletin,  January,  1892. 


370    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

KINSALE,  April  17,  1774. 
Dear  Dr. 

Thanks  to  you  for  your  Letter  which  I  received  on  my 
Arrival  here.  Though  I  wrote  by  the  last  Post  to  my 
Father,  and  have  nothing  to  say  yet  I  could  not  help  setting 
down  just  to  inform  you  that  We  are  still  here,  nor  have 
we  as  yet  got  any  Intelligence  of  the  Transports.  How 
ever  as  the  Wind  is  fair,  We  have  reason  to  expect  them 
every  Moment.  Our  Orders,  with  regard  to  our  Encamping 
at  Boston,  you  know  in  London  full  as  well  if  not  better 
than  we  do,  as  I  find  we  are  to  have  eight  Regts.  there, 
I  fancy  severity  is  intended.  Surely  the  People  of  Boston 
are  not  Mad  enough  to  think  of  opposing  us.  Readiness 
and  Temper  will  I  hope  set  things  in  that  Quarter  to  rights, 
and  General  Gage  is  the  proper  man  to  do  it.  Adieu,  my 
Dear  Dr,  and  be  assured  I  am 

your  sincere  friend,     PERCY. 
To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Percy, 

Northumberland  House, 
Free.  London. 

Percy. 

This,  it  is  interesting  to  recall,  is  the  Bishop  Percy  of 
the  Reliques,  a  distant  kinsman. 

On  Board  the  Symetry, 

May  8,  1774, 
Dear  Dr. 

We  are  at  last  on  board,  and  shall  sail  directly.  I 
should  think  myself  much  obliged  to  you  if  you  would  send 
me  over  the  English  Votes  constantly  to  Boston.  My 
Newspapers  the  Porter  will  forward  as  usual.  I  am  so 
cold  I  can  scarce  hold  my  Pen,  and  if  I  could  it  and  the  Ink 
are  so  bad  I  can  hardly  make  the  Letter  legible. 
Adieu,  my  Dear  Dr.,  and  believe  me 

Yours  sincerely,  PERCY. 

P.  S.  Messrs  Baker,  Palmer,  Gair  &c  who  are  on  board 
with  me  beg  I  will  present  [their]  compliments. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  371 

Hugh,  Lord  Percy,  was  born  in  1742,  so  that  at  this  time 
he  was  thirty-two  years  old.  His  father,  Sir  Hugh  Smith- 
son,  Bart.,  married  Lady  Betty  Seymour,  only  child  of 
Algernon,  Duke  of  Somerset,  and  in  1766  was  created  Earl 
Percy  and  Duke  of  Northumberland. 

The  next  letter  is  from  Captain  George  Harris.  Left 
fatherless  when  a  fourteen-year-old  Westminster  schoolboy, 
in  1759,  through  the  influence  of  his  father's  friends,  the  lad 
was  admitted  cadet  in  the  Royal  Artillery,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1763  became  ensign  in  the  5th  Foot.  At  the  age  of  twenty 
he  became  a  lieutenant  by  purchase,  and  soon  was  made  ad 
jutant.  In  1771  he  purchased  a  company.  This  brought 
him  a  debtor  to  his  mother  for  £1100,  which  he  ultimately 
repaid.  In  1772  he  was  invited  by  his  colonel,  Lord  Percy, 
to  his  father's  seat  at  Alnwick.  Together  they  went  from 
there  to  the  Kelso  Races,  but  here  young  Harris,  in  his 
own  words,1  as  he  "flattered  himself  he  preferred  friendship 
to  pleasure,  left  his  Lordship,  and  the  bonny  Scots  lasses,  to 
see  a  brother  officer,  who  has  lately  gone  ori  half  pay  from 
several  good  motives.  Regret,  at  not  seeing  merit  meet  with 
its  reward — the  care  of  an  old  mother,  and  to  pay  some  debts, 
which,  through  his  openness  of  disposition,  he  had  incurred. 
These  were  his  reasons;  and  as  I  knew  them,  had  I  not  gone 
to  see  him,  when  so  near,  he  would  have  considered  it  a 
slight,  and  imagine  that  I,  like  the  greater  part  of  the  world, 
only  worshipped  the  rising  star.  Indeed,  my  dear  Bess,  I 
would  not  have  missed  going  for  the  best  ten  guineas  I  shall 
ever  see,  and  few  want  them  more  (or  less)  than  me." 

Ordered  unexpectedly  to  America  in  1774,  he  wrote  to 
his  cousin,  Mrs.  Dyer: 

KINSALE,  May,  1774. 

My  dear  Bess,  How  vain  are  the  best  laid  schemes  for 
mortal  happiness,  without  the  concurrence  of  the  All-seeing 
Power.  The  very  morning  I  had  leave  for  two  years  at 

1  The  Life  and  Services  of  General  George,  Baron  Harris,  Q.  C.  B.,  Baron  of 
Seringapatem  and  Mysore,  by  the  Right  Hon.  Stephen  Rumbold  Lushington,  late 
Governor  of  Madras.  London,  1840:  John  W.  Parker. 


372    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

least,  came  an  order  for  the  regiment  to  go  to  Boston,  every 
officer  to  attend.  The  transports  are  arrived;  and  we  expect 
to  go  on  board  Monday,  if  not  sooner;  so,  most  probably, 
ere  this  reaches  you,  your  George  will  have  been  most  heart 
ily  sick,  and  on  the  mend  again.  You  shall  have  a  copy 
of  my  journal,  but  I  cannot  promise  you  much  entertain 
ment.  Comfort  my  old  mother,  as  well  as  you  can,  with 
hopes  of  our  speedy  return.  You  are  too  good  a  soldier 
to  have  any  fears  for  me:  I  have  none  for  myself,  but  as 
my  friends  would  suffer.  Was  I  clear  with  you  in  all  money 
matters  this  trip  would  be  a  very  pleasant  one,  as  I  flatter 
myself  you  would  have  good  accounts  of  me;  and  I  certainly 
never  could  see  the  New  World  at  a  better  stage  of  life,  or 
ever  have  such  an  opportunity  of  bettering  my  affairs,  should 
anything  be  done  in  consequence  of  this  break  with  the 
Americans.  You  would  not  be  in  love  with  me  at  this 
moment  for  my  beauty,  as  ever  since  the  order  arrived  for 
our  going,  I  have  scarcely  had  the  least  appetite,  from  the 
thought  how  unhappy  my  poor  mother  will  be,  and  how 
severely  she  and  my  sisters  will  feel  my  loss  in  worldly 
affairs,  should  fate  demand  me.  A  perfect  trust  in  the 
Father  of  all  can  alone  enable  me  to  support  this  idea.  I 
doubt  not  that  His  protecting  arm  will  again  guide  me  to 
the  friends  I  love;  and  then  the  recollection  of  past  anxieties 
will  add  to  present  pleasures. 

I  can  hardly  quit  my  pen,  though  Jonathan  is  perpetu 
ally  calling,  "Sir,  the  baggage  will  be  too  late  —  we  shall 
all  be  left  behind."  Others  are  also  calling.  So,  my  dear 
Bess,  I  must  bid  adieu:  you  will  be  my  frequent  consola 
tion  during  the  voyage.  That  every  happiness  may  attend 
you,  is  my  first  wish:  that  you  deserve  it  is  certain,  but 
patient  merit  is  sometimes  spurned,  though,  remember, 
only  by  the  unworthy, 

Yours  &c.,  G.  HARRIS. 

The  next  letter,  dated  7th  August,  begins  playfully: 
By  this  time  I  fear  my  dear  Bess  has  set  me  down  as 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  373 

the  most  ungrateful  of  mortals.  To  have  encountered  the 
perils  of  a  thousand  leagues  across  the  Atlantic,  and  not 
have  told  her  of  his  safety  the  moment  he  landed,  is  such  a 
violation  of  the  laws  of  love  and  friendship,  as  has  not 
occurred  since  the  days  of  .Eneas! 

Of  course  you  will  have  heard  of  my  sickness  and  sulki- 
ness  at  the  tediousness  of  the  passage  &c  without  my 
plaguing  you  with  a  narrative  thereof.  .  .  .  My  mother 
has  no  doubt,  told  you  of  the  loss  I  have  sustained  in  my 
friend  Lt.  (Robert)  Palmer's  death  (June  9)  which,  as  well 
as  his  illness,  added  inconceivably  to  the  disagreeableness 
of  the  voyage.  He  chose  me,  poor  fellow!  to  assist  him  in 
making  his  peace  with  a  God  he  had  scarce  ever  offended, 
I  believe,  even  in  thought.  It  is  at  that  awful  day,  when 
all  worldly  views  are  past,  when  all  disguise  is  thrown  off, 
that  we  see  how  a  man  should  have  been  admired  or  despised. 
Never  did  man  make  a  better  end,  (or  after  acknowledging 
his  weakness)  go  to  meet  his  Savior  and  his  God  with  a 
greater  confidence  in  his  mercy.  He  had  more  in  his  fav 
our  and  less  against  him  than  any  man  I  know,  and  I  am  as 
convinced  he  is  happy  as  that  any  shall  ever  be.  When 
ever  we  meet  again  (if  in  this  world),  you  must  indulge  me 
in  talking  of  him,  and  listening  to  all  the  accounts  of  his 
tender  friendship.  My  dear  Bess  does  not  love  me  more. 

George  Evelyn  Boscawen,  who  became  3d  Viscount 
Falmouth,  was  born  1758,  and  is1  thus  referred  to  by  Mrs. 
Delany  in  her  famous  correspondence: 

A  sad  alloy  of  happiness  has  clouded  poor  Mrs.  Bos- 
cawen's  situation  occasioned  by  the  death  of  her  eldest 
son,  (Hugh  Boscawen  Esq.  nephew  to  Lord  Falmouth, 
brother-in-law  to  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  M.  P.  for  Truro, 
at  the  German  Spa,  July  17).  This  is  the  second  son  she 
has  lost  grown  up  to  man's  estate,  which  besides  the  death 

1  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Captain  W.  Glanville  Evelyn  of  the  Fourth  Regiment 
(King's  Own},  1774-76,  ed.  G.  D.  Scull.  Oxford,  1879,  privately  printed: 
J.  Parker  &  Co. 


374     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

of  the  Admiral,  have  been  most  severe  strokes.  .  .  .  Her 
youngest  (and  now  only]  son  had  gone  thro'  Winchester 
School  with  great  credit,  and  she  had  promised  herself  great 
satisfaction  in  his  making  a  figure  as  a  man  of  learning  in 
some  profession,  and  was  preparing  him  for  the  University, 
when  a  frenzy  of  going  into  the  army  seized  him,  and 
he  would  listen  to  no  other  occupation.  Mrs.  Boscawen 
thought  it  to  no  purpose  to  thwart  an  inclination  that  had 
taken  such  root,  consented,  and  he  sailed  with  the  regiment 
he  is  in  for  America  above  a  month  ago ;  so  one  may  say  she 
is  deprived  of  all  her  sons. 

Mrs.  Boscawen  herself  wrote1  to  Mrs.  Delany,  June 
16th,  with  reference  to  her  son,  from  Audley  Street: 

My  dear  Madam, 

Do  not  think  of  me  amidst  dust,  and  heat,  and  stinks, 
and  screams  of  green  hastings  [i.e.,  green  peas],  lest  it  make 
you  hot  and  uncomfortable  as  I  am  now.  Hope  is  my 
cordial,  and  the  perfect  good  health  of  my  daughter  ought 
to  satisfy  me,  especially  as  my  poor  little  soldier  has  had 
as  good  an  outsetting  as  possible.  He  is  gone  in  a  man  of 
war,  the  Captain  of  which  wrote  me:  He  beg'd  I  would  be 
easy  about  my  son,  for  he  should  consider  him  as  his  own, 
and  take  the  same  care  of  him;  that  he  should  sleep  in  his 
own  Cabbin  and  fare  as  he  did.  George  sailed  from  Ports 
mouth  under  these  auspices  on  ye  6  June  and  on  ye  9th 
he  wrote  me  from  Plymouth  on  board  the  Albion  (Captain 
Leverson's  ship)  where  he  was  visiting  his  brother  in  law, 
but  is  now,  I  trust,  well  on  his  way  to  Boston. 

Addressing  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Com 
pany  on  this  same  6th  of  June,  Rev.  John  Lathrop  of  the 
Old  North  Meeting-house,  then  thirty  years  of  age,  took 
occasion  to  remark:2  "The  necessity  of  preparing  for  un- 

1  The  Autobiography  and  Correspondence  of  Mary  Granville,  Mrs.  Delany,  II, 
second  series,  21, 5,  ed.  Rt.  Hon.  Lady  Llanover.     London,  1862:  Richard  Bentley. 

2  Boston  Post,  April  20,  1903,  and  Boston  Globe,  ibid. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  375 

avoidable  war  is  sufficiently  evident.  War  is  justifiable 
when  those  who  are  in  government  violate  law  and  attempt 
to  oppress  and  enslave  the  people.  The  fate  of  America 
depends  on  her  sons."  These  bold  words  threw  his  hearers 
into  a  flurry,  and  he  quietly  brought  the  meeting  to  an  end, 
saying,  "Let  us  enlist  ourselves  under  the  banner  of  Jesus, 
and  having  fought  the  good  fight  of  faith,  and  finished  our 
course,  God  grant  we  may  be  admitted  into  His  glorious 
kingdom." 

The  12th,  Sunday,  Rowe l  tells  us,  "After  church  I 
walked  round  the  wharffs;  .  .  .  not  one  topsail  merchant 
man  to  be  seen."  And  this  where  one  thousand  vessels 
were  wont  to  clear  in  a  twelvemonth.  "June  14,"  he  re 
sumes,  "This  is  the  last  day  any  vessell  can  depart  this 
harbor.  Boston,  thy  fate  is  very  distressing.  The  4th 
Regiment  landed  this  morning,  and  pitched  their  tents  in 
the  Common  by  the  pound,  a  number  of  spectators  to  see 
them.  June  15,  The  43rd  Regiment  landed  this  morning, 
and  pitched  their  tents  in  the  Common  near  the  Work 
house  on  that  Plain."  "Four  regiments  already  arriv'd, 
four  more  expected.  How  they  are  to  be  disposed  of, 
can't  say,"  wrote  Andrews2  in  great  disgust.  "Its  gave 
out,  that  if  ye  General  Court  don't  provide  barrack  for 
'em,  they  are  to  be  quarter'd  on  ye  inhabitants  in  ye  fall: 
if  so,  am  determin'd  not  to  stay."  He  grumbles  on:  "The 
executors  of  the  Act  seem  to  strain  points  beyond  what 
was  ever  intended,  for  they  make  all  ye  vessels,  both  with 
grain  and  wood,  entirely  unload  at  Marblehead  before  they'll 
permit  'em  to  come  in  here,  which  conduct,  in  regard  to  ye 
article  of  wood  has  already  greatly  enhanced  ye  price,  and 
the  masters  say  they  won't  come  at  all,  if  they  are  always  to 
be  put  to  such  trouble,  as  they  are  oblig'd  to  hire  another 
vessel  to  unload  into,  and  then  to  return  it  back  again,  as 
they  have  no  wharves  to  admit  of  their  landing  it  on.  Nor 
will  they  suffer  any  article  of  merchandize  to  be  brought 

1  Diary.  2  Letters,  June  12. 


376     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

or  carry'd  over  Charles  river  ferry,  that  we  are  oblig'd  to 
pay  for  28  miles  land  carriage  to  get  our  goods  from  Marble- 
head  or  Salem.  Could  fill  up  a  number  of  sheets  to 
enumerate  all  our  difficulties." 

Elsewhere  he  says,1  in  reference  to  land  carriage,  that 
the  route  via  Cambridge  "adds  one  third  to  the  length  of 
the  way,  which  is  attended  with  the  expence  of  eight 
dollars  a  load,  or  40  |  lawful  money  at  ye  lowest  rate.  It 
is  no  uncommon  thing  to  hear  the  carriers  and  waggoners, 
when  they  pass  a  difficult  place  in  the  road,  to  whip  their 
horses  and  d — n  Lord  North  alternately :  —  nor  are  the 
coasters  who  bring  wood  and  grain  allowed  to  carry  away 
any  more  provisions  and  stores  than  will  suffice  to  last 
'em  to  Salem,  much  less  permitted  to  carry  any  sort  of  mer 
chandize  or  utensils  for  farming,  whereby  I  am  depriv'd 
of  the  sale  of  at  least  two  thirds  of  ye  goods  I  usually  us'd 
to  vend.  .  .  .  The  executors  of  the  cursed  Port  Bill  .  .  . 
give  out,  they  shall  seize  [unlaunched  vessels]  immediately 
upon  their  being  water  borne.  At  present,  there  is  about 
ten  or  a  dozen  ships  on  the  stocks  nearly  or  quite  ready  to 
launch  (the  latter  they  are  oblig'd  to  fill  with  water  for 
their  preservation)  one  of  which  belongs  to  your  brother, 
and  the  rest  principally  to  Scotsmen;  which  circumstance 
makes  the  matter  rather  less  grievous  to  the  town,  as  their 
countrymen,  we  are  informed,  were  the  chief  promoters  of 
the  Bill  for  which  they  now  suffer  in  common  with  the  in 
habitants,  as  they  have  cargoes  of  tobacco  now  laying  ready 
for  them  in  Virginia,  to  take  home  to  Scotland  as  freight." 

At  the  short  notice  of  twenty  days  Boston  had  been 
sentenced  to  the  loss  of  trade  and  means  of  subsistence. 
Mechanics  were  forced  to  seek  homes  elsewhere,  and  rents 
ceased  or  were  much  reduced.  Thomas  Newell2  tells 
of  most  of  the  stores  on  Long  Wharf  being  closed,  and 
exclaims,  "Oh,  let  not  posterity  forget  our  sufferings."2 
"Admit  for  a  moment,"  writes  Josiah  Quincy3  in  his  Obser- 

1  Letters,  August  1.     Andrews.  *  Diary,  June  15. 

3  Hist,  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  312.     Spencer. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  377 

vations  on  the  bill,  "that  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  were 
charged  as  high  criminals;  the  highest  criminals  are  not 
punishable  till  arraigned  before  disinterested  Judges,  heard 
in  defence,  and  found  guilty  of  the  charge.  But  so  far 
from  all  this,  a  whole  people  are  accused;  prosecuted  by, 
they  know  not  whom;  tried,  they  know  not  when;  proved 
guilty,  they  know  not  how;  and  sentenced  in  a  mode  which, 
for  number  of  calamities,  extent  and  duration  of  severity, 
exceeds  the  annals  of  past  ages,  and  we  presume,  in  pity 
to  mankind,  will  not  mark  any  future  era  in  the  world." 

In  spite  of  the  stress,  Sam  Adams  could  write l  of 
Boston,  "She  suffers  with  dignity ;"  and  then  add  firmly: 
"Britain,  by  her  multiplied  oppressions,  is  accelerating 
that  independency  which  she  dreads.  We  have  a  post  to 
maintain,  to  desert  which  would  entail  upon  us  the  curses 
of  posterity." 

Happily  the  town  did  not  lack  encouragement  from  out 
side  its  borders.  As  Richard  Henry  Dana  says,2  "The 
Port  Bill  was  a  mean  appeal  to  the  jealousy  of  other  towns 
and  provinces,  in  which  it  failed,  to  their  infinite  credit." 
The  Essex  Gazette  of  June  14th  gives  an  extract  from  the  cor 
respondence  of  a  lady  in  London,  which  reads  as  follows : 

The  unhappy  affairs  of  Boston  now  lay  near  my 
heart!  From  my  soul  I  feel  for  Boston  and  for  all  Amer 
ica.  I  was  in  the  Parliament  house  and  heard  the  Port  Bill 
brought  in  and  read. 

A  bill  is  this  day  passed  to  destroy  your  trade,  and 
another  is  bringing  in  to  subvert  your  whole  constitutional 
government.  Expect  no  mercy  from  them.  For  the  love 
of  your  country  and  posterity,  for  the  love  of  justice,  and 
for  God's  sake,  use  all  your  powers  to  prevent  your  town's 
submission.  Tell  them  to  hold  out  only  six  months  and  all 
will  be  well.  England  will  rise  on  the  occasion.  STOP 
ALL  TRADE,  Be  SILENT,  BE  STRONG,  BE  RESOLUTE. 

1  Our  Country,  II,  720.     Lossing. 

2  Oration,  Lexington  Centennial,  1875. 


378     BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Their  plan  was  kept  secret  through  fear  that  had  it  been 
known,  the  Parliament  House  would  have  been  destroyed. 
Depend  on  my  intelligence  to  be  good.  Stand  it  out,  or 
die!  If  you  give  up  you  are  undone!  Call  your  people 
together,  alarm  them  —  rouse  them  —  call  on  them  to 
humble  themselves  before  God,  by  fasting  and  prayer, 
that  the  intended  blow  may  be  mercifully  averted  from 
America!  All  letters  are  to  be  stopped — all  Governors 
are  to  be  changed,  three  hundred  taxmen  are  coming  over 
-  all  officers  are  to  be  sent  from  England  —  Juries  taken 
away  —  a  large  fleet  to  frighten  you  into  submission. 

The  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  was  assembled  at  Wil- 
liamsburg  when  the  fate  of  Boston  became  known,  and  the 
members  straightway  resolved  that  "the  day  on  which  the 
bill  took  effect  should  be  kept  as  a  day  of  fasting,  humilia 
tion,  and  prayer  "devoutly  to  implore  the  Divine  inter 
position  for  averting  the  heavy  calamity  wrhich  threatens 
destruction  to  our  civil  rights,  and  the  evils  of  civil  war; 
to  give  us  one  heart  and  one  mind,  firmly  to  oppose,  by  all 
just  and  proper  means,  every  injury  to  American  rights; 
and  that  the  minds  of  his  Majesty  and  his  Parliament  may 
be  inspired  from  above  with  wrisdom,  moderation,  and 
justice,  to  remove  from  the  loyal  people  of  America  all  cause 
of  danger,1  from  a  continued  pursuit  of  measures  pregnant 
with  their  ruin.  Ordered,  therefore,  That  the  members  of 
this  house  do  attend  in  their  places,  at  the  hour  of  ten  in 
the  forenoon,  on  the  said  first  day  of  June  next,  in  order 
to  proceed,  with  the  speaker  and  mace  to  the  church  in  this 
city  for  the  purpose  aforesaid." 

The  Assembly  was  dissolved  by  Governor  Dunmore 
so  soon  as  this  came  to  his  ears,  but  eighty-nine  delegates 
adjourning  to  the  Apollo  room  of  the  Raleigh  Tavern  imme 
diately  reorganized  and  agreed  to  take  part  in  a  General 
Congress2  the  coming  fall.  After  this  the  House  formally 

1  Hist,  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  313.     Spencer. 
8  Our  Country,  II,  718-9.     Lossing. 


THE  PORT  OF  BOSTON  CLOSED  379 

broke  up,  although  fully  twenty-five  members  lingered 
on  for  the  fast,  George  Washington  1  among  the  rest.  In 
Philadelphia 2  funeral  knells  were  tolled;  in  Governor 
Trumbull's  home  in  3  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  muffled  bells 
tolled  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  the  shop-shutters  were  barred 
and  hung  with  crape  and  the  grievous  act  itself  was  nailed, 
for  all  to  read,  upon  the  Town-house  door,  likewise  draped 
in  black. 

Marblehead, 4  the  newly-made  port  of  entry,  so  far 
from  showing  any  desire  to  profit  by  Boston's  sufferings, 
placed  the  Town-house  and  powder-house,  private  store 
houses,  and  wharves  at  the  free  disposal  of  the  Boston 
merchants  for  storage  purposes.  "The  late  act  hath  struck 
this  town  with  the  greatest  astonishment,"  they  wrote  to 
their  representative,  John  Gallison;  "our  hearts  bleed  for 
the  distressed  but  truly  respectable  Bostonians.  ...  It 
is  the  opinion  of  this  town  that  nothing  could  more  deface 
the  history  of  America  than  its  permitting  the  magnani 
mous  Bostonians  to  suffer  more  than  an  equal  proportion 
of  this  unrighteous  sacrifice  now  making  of  their  interest. 
In  supporting  this,  we  prop  the  liberties  of  America." 

"Boston  is  suffering  in  the  common  cause,'"  writes 
Hosmer, 5  "came  in  a  few  months  to  be  the  cry  throughout 
the  Thirteen  Colonies,  .  .  .  Boston  suffered  then  for  a 
far  wider  world  than  the  Thirteen  Colonies;  it  suffered  for 
England  as  well  as  for  America,  —  for  men  now  living  and 
for  generations  yet  unborn,  —  the  clear  sight  that  her 
citizens  had  of  Anglo-Saxon  rights  and  their  boldness  in 
upholding  them  having  brought  it  to  pass  that  Anglo- 
Saxon  freedom,  for  all  the  English-speaking  world  and  for 
all  time,  is  recognized  and  established  as  it  would  not 
otherwise  have  been." 

1  Hist,  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  316.     Spencer. 

2  Our  Country,  II,  718-9.      Lossing. 

3  "Brother  Jonathan  and  His  Home."     William  Elliot.     New  England  Mag 
azine,  September,  1897. 

4  Hist,  of  Marblehead,  113.     Roads. 

6  Life  of  Hutchinson,  305-6.     Hosmer. 


380    BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

When  a  day  was  set  for  a  general  fast  in  Massachusetts, 
Parson  Byles,  who  loved  a  jest,  assured  his  friends  among 
the  British  officers,  on  such  and  such  a  day  forty  thousand 
men  would  rise  up  in  opposition  to  Great  Britain  with 
the  clergy  at  their  head. J  This  statement,  coming  from  a 
Tory  source,  occasioned  quite  a  flurry  among  the  soldiers, 
to  the  great  diversion  of  the  townsfolk.  John  Adams  wrote 
to  his  wife2  from  Falmouth  that  Governor  Hutchinson's 
brother,  Judge  Foster  Hutchinson,  was  very  ironical  about 
"getting  home  for  the  Fast."  "Why  don't  you  pay  for 
the  tea?  Refuse  to  pay  for  the  tea!  and  go  to  fasting 
and  praying  for  direction!  Perfect  blasphemy!" 

1  Letters  of  John  Andrews,  July  22,  1774. 

2  Familiar  Letters  of  John  Adams  and  his  wife,  17.      C.  F.  Adams. 


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